Opposing Attraction
by edward18
Summary: Fed up with each other one day, Miko and Jack get into a rather vicious fight leading to some...unexpected results...
1. Another Day Another Fight

Chapter 1: Another Day Another Fight

"And then it went all, KABOOM!" Miko exclaimed throwing her arms in the air. Raf and Jack continued on in silence as they listened to the excited girl's talking. Fortunately for their ears it did eventually end at which point Jack gave his input.

"Yes Miko," he told her, "We were there."

"Well duh, but you two obviously would never tell it like I do," she declared placing a hand on her chest. Jack rolled his eyes. Raf glanced over towards the kitchen. There was bound to be a spat starting between the two soon and he did want a nice place to take shelter, preferably one with food. For the moment however, they were just giving their normal reactions to each other. Miko displaying her arrogance for the world to view and Jack trudging through the annoyance. It was almost like watching a show sometimes with how frequent their behaviors were.

"But I'm telling you, just let me in the ring with one of those Decepti-creeps and pow! Down they go!" Miko thrust her fist in the air for emphasis.

"Right, let me just contact M.E.C.H. so that they can equip you with a Nemesis Prime to use..." Jack murmured. Miko's eyes expanded.

"You think they would?" she asked hopping gleefully. Jack smirked causing her expression to flip upside down. "Ha ha," she shot back dryly.

"I try," Jack told her lifting his brows. Miko mouthed what he'd said in silence mockingly.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Jack asked leaning forward to get a better view of her face. Miko bit her lower lip for a moment but it soon turned to a grin.

"Oh nothing, I was just admiring your ever-valuable sense of humor Jackson Darby," she told him pinching his cheek. Jack's eye twitched.

"Well, it is a hard job..." he muttered before quieting his voice to a whisper, "Not that you'd know anything about work..." Raf looked at the kitchen again. 'Real soon' he thought. Thankfully salvation seemed just around the corner. Literally. As they rounded the next hall, the trio emerged into the main lobby of Autobot Base Omega Outpost 1.

"Oh hey guys!" Bulkhead chimed upon seeing them, "You three doin' alright?" Raf gave a mental sigh of relief. Surely the Autobots would take the older boy and girls' minds off their discussion.

"Why yes, of course we are," Miko told him in a sickening innocent tone as she wrapped her arms around Jack's neck, "We're getting along like two Pokemon in a Daycare!" Or...maybe not. Jack did his best to restrain his look of discontent.

"Yep, we're just dandy!" Jack forced a smile squeezing Miko as well, probably purposely too hard. Bulkhead smiled.

"Awesome," he gave a thumbs-up, "Don't forget that school's off tomorrow Miko. I'll be going by the house to pick you up. Don't need you trying to break into the classroom again." With that he walked off towards the recreation room to meet up with Bumblebee for their basketball match. The three humans kept their eyes on the door even after the hulking Cybertronian had exited. This time Raf was the first one to make the move. As calmly as possible he walked to the front of the group and gripped his hands together. Miko and Jack were still tightly tangled around each other.

"So, what games we gonna play?" he asked pleasantly. Miko and Jack looked at each other and narrowed their eyes.

"How's about a round of Speed Demons?..." Jack suggested in a questioning manner.

"Alri-"

"Speed Demons is getting boring. I say Biohazard..." Miko said just as dully. Their eyes weren't leaving each other and their mouths only dipping more and more on their faces. Raf gulped back the nervousness of the inevitable.

"And I say Speed Demons," Jack said, a bit more command-like this time.

"And I don't," Miko hissed. Raf kicked the ground.

"We could alway-"

"Sonic," Jack offered instead.

"Punchout," Miko countered. The duo were now squinting with how much they'd narrowed their eyes at each other.

"Guys, we can play both ga-"

"Diddy Kong Racing," Jack tried.

"F-Zero GX," Miko refuted.

"Milon's Castle."

"Bug's Bunny's Birthday Blowout."

"Vectorman!"

"Super Metroid!"

"Earthworm Jim!"

"Earthworm Jim Special Edition!"

"Earthworm Jim Special Edition!"

"Earthworm Jim 2 Special Edition !"

"Pikmi- okay what the hell is with you! You just said you wanted to play 1's Special Edition!" Jack spat.

"Yeah, but then you suggested it!" Miko stomped her foot. Raf rubbed his forehead.

"Oh, so everything I choose is just automatically crap now?" Jack asked.

"Well duh, always has been," Miko told him, "You with all your boring ass calmness and unprofessional gaming."

"You mean my ability to kick your ass in multiplayer?" Jack gave a single laugh causing Miko's cheeks to flood a tint of red.

"No..." she growled through clenched teeth, "I'm talking about your poor choice in games...Raf agrees with me..." The smaller boy's eyes shot open at the mention of his name.

"And he agrees that I have a fine choice of games," Jack said deciding to bring him in on his side as well.

"Well I think he can speak for himself...can't you?" Miko smiled to Raf along with Jack, both of them silently pleading for his support.

"Um..." he bit his lip. His eyes darted between the two for a few second. "...I'm gonna go get something to eat..." With that, he dove for cover leaving the older humans to continue their discussion.

"...he so agreed with me," Miko shrugged after about half a minute.

"Like hell," Jack grumbled folding his arms over his chest, "I mean seriously, what is it with you?" Miko's eyelids lowered.

"You mean how it annoys me that you just can't have fun?" she drolled.

"No, I mean how you just act like an immature little bitch," he corrected. Now Miko's eye was the one to twitch.

"Well at least I'm not some stuck-up asshat that thinks he's right about every little thing," Miko retorted jabbing her finger into his chest for each of the last three words. Jack's brows began to furrow. Sternly he grabbed the girl's hand and pulled it to the side.

"Better than not taking anything seriously at all," he muttered.

"Tell me that when you look back on the years you'll waste being miserable," she hissed getting on her toes and pressing her nose against his.

"Says the girl that'll probably end up overdosing on alcohol and drugs," Jack uttered just as threateningly. For a good fifteen seconds or so the two just stood there staring each other down. Then their lips met. And broke apart just as quickly. Their cheeks flushed. Again the pair stared at each other, but this time the animosity wasn't there. Just confusion and embarrassment.

"So what game're we playin'?" Raf asked coming back out of the kitchen. Jack and Miko instantly zipped away from each other a couple of feet. The younger boy looked up from the plate of cheese and crackers he'd made and eyed the two suspiciously. Had he come out too early? Their voices had died down minutes ago...

"Earthworm Jim Special Edition?" they asked in an unintentional unison that made Raf's skin crawl.

"...uh...alright..." he replied scratching the back of his head. There was definitely an awkward atmosphere that hung in the air about them. Even so it didn't take long for the smartest member of the group to get the old Sega CD hooked up to the television. They each took turns playing the levels. The strange thing about the whole session however was that the older two, especially Miko, were pretty much quiet unless they were talking to him. They were completely avoiding saying anything at all to each other. The whole situation just made Raf uneasy.

"Uh...Raf?" Jack asked. The young boy put his concentration back on the screen to see the worm he was playing as get snapped in half by the monster in the mucus pit of the level.

"Sure not on your A-Game today are ya?" Miko chirped snatching the controller out of his hands.

"Miko, give Raf back the controller," Jack ordered. Miko stuck her tongue out in response and pressed a button to continue.

"It's alright Ja-"

"Miko, his turn wasn't up!" Jack exclaimed. Raf decided against attempting to give his input. He at least wouldn't have to suffer through the two of them not talking anymore.

"He lost all his lives on the first Snott a Problem of all things. My turn," Miko said in deadpan out of the side of her mouth, her eyes not leaving the screen. Even through the arguing she'd managed to breeze through the first two rounds of the level without so much as a hit being made from the enemy. Raf chanced glances at the two every so often throughout the final round. Jack was growing more and more irate with each passing second it seemed.

"Miko...give Raf the controller..." he muttered. He'd had enough of the feisty Asian for the entire week.

"Make me," she snapped back. Jack looked at the screen. The enemy was down to just a tiny bit of health left. It would only be probably ten more seconds before she won. And that was all the time Jack needed. Casually, he got up off the couch, walked over to the console, and turned the system off. Raf's pupils shrank. He scooted a bit away from Miko before turning his head to her. To his surprise she still had the controller in her hands as if she were playing, her eyes locked on the blank screen.

Just as calmly as Jack had, Miko set down the controller on the table in front of the couch and walked over to the console as well. Raf pulled a pillow over his head for cover. Miko looked up at Jack devoid of any sign of life.

"Told you to give it to him," he told her. Then he let out a gag. Miko punched him clear in the stomach causing the taller boy to bend over from the air that'd gotten knocked out of him. Before he could fully recover, the girl had grabbed him by the back and slammed her knee into his chest collapsing him to the ground. Deciding that he'd need better protection, Raf slinked over to the steps and walked down to Bumblebee who gave a series of whirs and beeps to him.

"Nah, they're okay. Just...mind if we go for a drive?" Raf asked. Bumblebee nodded and morphed into vehicle mode allowing the smallest member of the team to climb in. The screeching tires of the vehicle weren't even enough to distract the two remaining humans. Miko was currently trying her best to hit Jack any way she could while the boy she was sitting on was doing his best to block all the blows. Every so often he'd get a hit in on her but at the cost of quite a few more to his own body. Eventually, he sat up and forced Miko to the ground where he kept her pinned despite her squirming. Viciously she struggled about but to no avail.

"Why...do you...have to be...such a bitch!" he growled.

"Why do you have to be such a dick!" she yelled back. The struggling died down the longer Miko stayed pinned. The two ultimately just kept their eyes locked on each other, either daring the other to make the next move. It seemed like minutes passed before they finally loosened their limbs. They could feel each other's breath on their faces. Instinct more than anything, the boy and girl brought their lips together, this time not attempting to break apart.

-end of chapter-

Yeah, so my usual Jack Miko crap. What's new? Well...it's the first chapter of a story! So brace yourselves for the utter abysmal writing that shall continue!...where it will go, I haven't much of a clue yet honestly. But either way, this story will probably be a bit more of a...non-child viewable one with some of the content that'll probably work its way in if it continues. Just a warning. Here's a pic for the fic!

warahi(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Grrr-302619419


	2. Tangled Tongues

Chapter 2: Tangled Tongues

The day off school and weekend crept by slowly. The only point of interest that occurred was a short trip out to the Philippines to stop an Energon raid, and even that was short lived. Other than said incident, Raf had to put up with Jack and Miko being as awkward as they'd been when they'd been playing the video game. Only now it was worse. Every so often they might try to talk to each other but it'd just break off into mumbles before they went their separate ways. The most they ever seemed to get across properly was a shy wave. Raf had never been more relieved to return home on Sunday knowing that he'd at least have school to keep him preoccupied until the group's regular reunion with the Autobots.

Needless to say, the rest of the group had quickly picked up on the discomfort between the oldest teenagers and had joined Raf in his nervousness. They were used to Jack and Miko getting on each other's nerves now and then, and certainly knew the feeling themselves when it came to Miko, but they'd never acted like this before. Even after Bumblebee and Raf had told the others about the fight they had, it still remained quite a mystery as to just why they were acting so unusual afterwards, and for such a long time to boot. But just as Raf, the Autobots were glad for a break from the whole mess once the school week started back up, if only for some of the day.

"And be sure that Jack takes his lunch this time," the boy's mom told the motorcycle. "Don't worry June. I keep him safe from Decepticons, I'm sure I can make sure he doesn't forget his fuel," Arcee replied. The woman just smiled and gave her son a kiss on the forehead.

"Have a good day."

"You too mom," he smiled back. After waving goodbye, the motorcycle was off into Jasper's streets.

"So, got any missions lined up for today?" the boy asked.

"You do," the vehicle replied. Jack gave the steering device a confused look. "Talk to Miko and get whatever it is you need to sorted out."

"What?" Jack blinked.

"I'm sure Raf can tell you how uneasy it's making the rest of the team right now. I don't care how you do it, but you and Miko need to get out of this "awkward mode"."

"Can I kill her?" he smiled.

"I'll ask Fowler if he can cover for that," Arcee joined in. The two were happy for the most part for the rest of the trip, a rare chance given the recent circumstances. It made the quick ride it took to get to school even shorter it seemed. It was second nature by now for Arcee to pull into a back alley before other kids could really notice them and split up with the boy. Jack was about to exit to the sidewalk when Arcee called him back.

"Lunch."

"Right," Jack smacked his forehead and grabbed the bag from where it was hanging on the motorcycle's handle. Arcee watched until Jack was out of the line of site and drove off. She really was fond of him, but she didn't know what he'd do if she or his mom weren't around.

* * *

"Hey Raf," Miko greeted. The smaller boy took his head out of his locker and smiled up at her.

"Good morning Miko," he replied. With a clack he shut it. "How you doing?"

"Oh pretty good. How's school going for you so far?" Miko asked. Immediately she regretted the question.

"Oh it's great! Today I learned about how the positrons might not have started existing at all had the energy not been transfered from-" The Asian girl's mind slowly drifted off in the endless sea of words that washed over her. Lazily she tried to recall what her host parents had told her that morning. Had they wanted her to by home by nine or ten? Didn't matter of course. She'd come home when she felt like it, same as always. Sometimes she missed Japan so much. Sure it wasn't much different there, but at least she didn't have any lingering sense of guilt scratching at the back of her mind when she blew off her actual parents. She'd grown up with them and knew how they worked. One of the main reasons she'd come to the United States was to have a more relaxed style of living.

And ever since meeting the Autobots she certainly had. It'd been a dream come true. The best move she'd ever made in her life. Before Bulkhead she'd never met anyone so accepting of her boisterous attitude, and the fact that he and the others were giant transforming machines didn't hurt. Not to mention she'd actually found other people to hang out with. Raf may have been a nerd, but damn if he wasn't good at whipping up some neat contraption. And Jack was...Jack...

Miko's eyes drifted to her feet at the thought of the boy. He was without a doubt the most responsible one of the group. One that would keep her in line whenever she did something so wreckless when she'd otherwise end up getting herself killed. But dear god was he annoying! When they weren't having fun he was making sure that she wouldn't be!...well...not all the time. Miko just wished that she could go off on adventures without being held back. If it wasn't Optimus it was him...still...that was part of him that she admired. That he could be the reasonable one that everyone looked up to...something she wished she could be.

"Miko?" Raf asked. The girl blinked and shook her train of thought off it's tracks.

"Oh, uh, that's very nice Raf," she said forcing a smile to her face. Raf's expression flattened.

"You didn't listen to a thing I said did you?"

"Not a damn thing," Miko nodded. Raf rolled his eyes.

"Well, you may wanna say good morning to Jack too, he's over there talking to Sierra." The sides of Miko's mouth dropped from the information.

"Oh well I'm actually late for class-"

"You wouldn't care," Raf pointed out. Not giving her another chance to talk back, the boy turned her around and pushed her over to the older one. To Miko's dismay, Sierra was walking away. There'd be no way to distract him.

"You two, talky," Raf commanded upon reaching his destination. Jack and Miko stared at the genius as he walked off down the hall. Then their eyes drifted to each other.

"H-" Miko started.

"-ey," Jack finished. The two blinked. Uneasily Jack bit his lower lip and Miko rubbed her arm.

"So how are ya?..." Miko forced herself to say.

"Oh...uh...I'm okay..." Jack replied quietly.

"That's good," she said with a small smile. Both of them were glad that the other students were busy trying to get things ready for their next classes. If they weren't they'd likely die of embarrassment with the kind of looks their nervous scene would likely be getting.

"So um...how's Sierra?..." Miko asked.

"Oh...she's uh...okay..." Jack told her. His eyes slid to the side a bit at the mention of the redhead's name. He was obviously making as good of progress as normal. The next thirty seconds passed in silence as each waited for the other to say something. Both attempted to a few times but backed off at the sign of the other's attention.

"Alright...look Miko, we need to-"

BRINNNNG!

Both of them breathed a mental sigh of relief towards the bell. At least they would have more time to prepare for their next meeting.

"Well have a good time in class," Jack smiled. To his surprise Miko stood up to him on her toes and planted a kiss on his lips.

"You too," she smiled. Then her cheeks turned beet red upon realizing what she'd just done. Jack just stood there with his mouth hanging open a bit. Glancing up at his shocked face a final time, Miko turned and ran towards her classroom.

* * *

"Alright! School is out!" Miko cheered leaping into the air in excitement. Being at the back of the large conglomeration of students that were exiting, she was hardly noticed amidst the pool of peers who were just as excited for the most part. As with any kid their age, no matter how much they might have repressed the desire, they were happy to have the limiter of their social time lifted for the rest of the evening.

"My favorite time of the day!" the Asian girl declared as she danced about in front of the building.

"I'd hope that everyone would be well aware of that by now," Raf commented as he walked by. Though he probably could have guessed it, he didn't have the ability to see through the back of his head and spot Miko sticking her tongue out at him. Casually she strolled over and sat down with him on the steps. A few minutes passed with the children of the High School dispersing leaving only a few small groups here and there, Miko and Raf being one of them.

"And then she just poured the entire can of baking soda in the volcano!" Miko exclaimed causing Raf to join in the laughter.

"What'd the teacher do?" he managed through gasps.

"She got a face full of white powder is what she did!" The duo fell backwards holding their sides. Miko may have not known much about science, but Raf knew that any kid knew what happened when the infamous baking-powder volcano scenario went wrong.

"You guys talking about Sierra's friend?" a new voice asked. Though Raf stayed lying on the cement for a few seconds, Miko shot up to a sitting position like someone stepping on the end of a rake. Jack seemed just as wary to make eye contact with her as she did with him. Raf groaned inwardly. But if Miko wouldn't say anything he knew he would have to.

"Yeah, Miko here was telling me about what she saw in Chemistry class today," Raf explained. Jack nodded his head.

"Doubt there's a single student that hasn't heard about it by now," Jack chuckled, "Sierra's friend sure isn't going home until late today."

"Speaking of which, does she have a name?" Raf asked. Jack's eyes went to his head.

"Now that I think about it...I have no idea. She just always hangs around Sierra."

"Weirdo," Miko gave her thoughts. Raf grinned. She'd actually said something cohesively within Jack's line of vision. "I mean how would someone talk to her? "Hello Sierra's friend. Wanna hang out some time? Maybe we can catch a movie. Sierra's friend, you're so pretty"." The two boys burst out laughing at the bad impression she had performed of a typical male voice.

"Well, she certainly doesn't hang around people unless Sierra's with them," Jack shrugged. Miko and him smiled at each other...until they realized they were doing so and turned away blushing. Raf smacked his forehead. The attempt had been completely for nothing. They'd been so close and then just broken apart again! He was about to simply yell at them to makeup when his savior arrived. Bumblebee's car honk filled the air signaling for the youngest member to come bounding towards the yellow vehicle.

Naturally Jack and Miko followed Raf down the steps as their rides would follow soon after. Except for one apparently. Only the blue motorcycle was in sight.

"Uh...where's Bulkhead?..." Miko wondered aloud. A series of whirs and beeps emitted from the car.

"Arcee'll tell ya," Raf translated hopping in. With that the car wheeled down the street making way for bike with the fake rider to come swerving by.

"Not gonna deactivate Sadie in front of the school kids," Arcee told them through her holographic driver, "I'll be waiting in back."

"What about Bulkhead?" Miko asked.

"I'll be waiting in back," Arcee repeated and drove around the corner of the building.

"And you called me the bitch," Miko remarked sarcastically. Realizing who she was talking to, the girl bit back the urge to continue her usual heckling after the recent events. They walked around the high school as quietly as they normally accompanied each other as of late. And as promised the motorcycle was waiting there for them, the motor still humming.

"So about Bulkhead..." Miko reiterated twiddling her thumbs together.

"He couldn't make it. You're both riding me."

"WHAT?" Miko and Jack yelped hopping back a bit. The motorcycle wobbled in surprise at the reaction. Uneasily the humans looked at each other.

"...one minute," Jack said putting a finger up to Miko before wheeling the bike out of hearing distance, "Okay I'm sorry, now what?"

"You're both taking me," Arcee said, "Thought I told you to get this whatever-it-is sorted out."

"It's not as easy as you might think..." Jack mumbled.

"Yeah, well ya better get to work on it unless you're fine with one of you walkin'." Jack's brows furrowed. With a sigh he got on and rode back over to Miko. The girl's brows bent as did his. He nodded for her to get on after a few seconds of looking her over. Sighing herself, Miko slung her leg over the back of the seat and slid in up against Jack's back. As if it wasn't bad enough already, Miko then wrapped her arms around his stomach so as to not fall off during the trip. Jack had never felt so much heat rush to his face before. Thankfully the wind of the ride helped cool him off a bit.

"So...school go well?..." Arcee decided to break the ice.

"Yeah." Jack replied quickly.

"...and that's it?"

"Yeah." If Arcee could've shaken her head she would have. Jack was just glad that they were now on the path to the Autobot base. With no one around they were going much faster than in the suburbs.

"And Miko...you doing fine?"

"Yep," the girl told the bike just as fast. Arcee muttered something under her breath. It really was a losing battle with those two. But she'd told Jack what he had to do, and she knew he would do it with or without help. The rest of the trip was uncomforting to say the least. Arcee could handle a more than one person ride no problem. She just had never...had Jack in this mood before. Saying that she thanked Primus when she finally wheeled into the base would be an understatement. Quicker than she'd ever seen them move, the humans hopped off her and she morphed into robot-mode.

"Hope it wasn't too bad a ride," Arcee said, "You seemed awfully quiet."

"They were?" a deeper voice boomed. Miko's eyes widened as she glanced over at Bulkhead with the others. Arcee pinched the space between her optics.

"Bulkhead, should you really be moving around after your little "operation" you had?..." Arcee drolled out the suggestion. Bulkhead's own optics bulged a bit in remembrance of the situation.

"Oh yeah, I just was up to get a...I'll head back to the sick bay..." he said sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. Miko eyed the giant suspiciously while Jack looked up at his own guardian. Her eyes were shifting between him and the girl. Jack's lowered and he nodded. Miko would've wandered off too once Arcee had left if Jack hadn't grabbed her arm. Not even bothering to fight, Miko just looked back at him.

"We need to talk." Miko lowered her eyelids a bit and followed Jack into a nearby hallway where they wouldn't be noticed. There were no alarms to interrupt things this time.

"Alright..." Miko mumbled crossing her arms over her chest.

"Alright..." Jack said just as quietly, "...okay none of that this time. We gotta get over this. Look...I'm real sorry about what happened the other day. I shouldn't have picked a fight with you. It's just...you really get to me sometimes and I'd just had it that day." He hadn't realized he'd kept his eyes shut throughout the whole statement. But he was relieved. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of him. Miko on the other hand just stared at him confused.

"That's it?" she blinked. Jack gave his own expression of confusion and shrugged.

"You think the fight's what had me like this?" Miko asked jabbing a thumb at herself.

"Well...yeah? What else would it be?"

"What about what happened afterwards?" she reminded in a hushed voice, both of their cheeks lighting up at the memory.

"Oh...that..."

"Yeah...that..." Jack and Miko found it harder and harder to keep looking at each other. It felt like the room they were in was a sauna with how much their bodies were heating up.

"...well...it was just...a reaction," Jack offered an explanation. Miko lifted her brow. "You know...heat of the moment all that."

"And my uh...kiss earlier today?" Miko guiltily asked. Jack bit his lip.

"Just...leftover reaction?...let's just forget this all ever happened alright? The rest of the team's been pretty ancy about us since then." Miko put a finger to her lip in thought.

"...how's about we watch a movie or something together at my place tomorrow? Get things back to normal."

"...alright," Miko said. For the first time in days she gave him a smile that she didn't take back.

-end of chapter-

And so things shall hopefully return to somewhat normality around Autobot Oupost Omega 1 or whatever it's called. Either way, hope the chapter went okay. Was a bit iffy about where to go from the ending of the previous chapter, but me thinks. This story just feels...strange to me. It's the first one in a long time that I've done with pretty much no real humor so far.

...oh well, picture time: warahi(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Locker-Problems-302875324


	3. Patching Up

Chapter 3: Patching Up

In a jolt Megatron burst out of his slumber. His breathing simulation was ragged and his fingers trembling. It'd happened again. That same dream. The essence coursing through him. Taking hold. And then...him...Unicron. The Decepticon leader put hand to his helmet and held it there to help calm himself down.

"...damn Dark Energon..." his hissing voice uttered. The effects were terrifying to say the least. Each powerdown witnessing the same horrific visions. Even he could not withstand such destructive potential. It rattled his mind...still...if it would win the war it'd be worth it...right? And the Decepticons certainly needed any advantage they could get. They may have had the Autobots outnumbered, but for all their troops the Autobots fought back with unprecedented skill and teamwork. Something that Megatron would have had had his initial plan to resurrect Cybertron's dead come to fruition. All those bodies following one mind. Complete harmony to stamp out any oppression.

He'd been so close...if it hadn't been for those accursed Autobots...if it hadn't been for Optimus Prime. Megatron's breathing steadied out a bit more. There'd have been a time where he would've hated the thought of Orion Pax even falling...but now...he wished nothing more than his demise. Megatron's eye twitched as he felt a pang of the dark influence spread through his mentality again.

"...I need to see a medic..." Megatron muttered.

* * *

"Alright Raf! Kick ass!" Miko cheered. The little boy was calmly swerving his car in and out of obstacles. Jack on the other hand sat next to him with his tongue sticking out over his upper lip in concentration, sweat forming on his brow. Out of all the kids, Raf predictably was the best at games. That only added to the frustration of slamming into pretty much every hazard on the virtual road.

"You're just saying that cause I can beat Jack," Raf remarked. Miko clenched her teeth. "...what? No sly comeback or insult to him or anything? Thought you guys got over that whole fight yesterday."

"What? It wasn't about-" Miko managed to stop herself before she completed the sentence. A look at Jack's wary face was all she needed to realize. The others didn't know about the whole thing! They just had heard about the fight! "Er-well, still letting Jack recover. But if you insist, yeah...Jack uh...sucks..." Miko's cheeks began to glow a bit.

"Well, getting better," Raf acknowledged, "And I win again." Jack cringed as his car exploded. Miko couldn't help but laugh. Jack rolled his eyes and let out a sigh.

"Relax," Raf chuckled, "I'm going to get something to eat. You'll have someone more your level to compete with. Just better not be all bloody when I come back." Simply happy to have the two able to talk to each other again in some form, the young genius handed the controller to Miko and started down the steps. Though a bit reserved, Miko pulled the device to her field of vision. Instantly her mouth curved into a grin.

"You ready?" Jack asked.

"Always," Miko said. The two pressed the start buttons of their controllers and initiated a new round. For a few minutes the only sound that could be heard were the digitized noises of their vehicles speeding along the flat expanse of road and the collision of obstacles. It was enough of a challenge to simply keep the cars from flying off the track. Thankfully, Miko certainly wasn't anywhere near Raf's level of skill with the title. That was probably why she was still next to Jack's car.

"Mess up," Miko said. Jack glanced at her for a second. The moment he turned back he had to literally move his body to aide the controller in maneuvering his car out of the way of a box of dynamite.

"That was fair..." he muttered getting the car back on track. Miko's grin grew.

"Mess up," Miko quipped again. Her mouth bent downward a bit when she saw his car slip past the crate of glass with ease. A wall was coming up though. Perfect opportunity. "Mess up!" she said a bit louder this time. The car just continued along the path. Her brows lowered.

"I SAID MESS UP!" she exclaimed leaning over to Jack's ear. With a yelp the controller flew out of his hands leaving Miko leaning back in laughter.

"I guess cheaters do get what they deserve," Jack smirked. Horror washed over Miko. She'd done what she knew she was never supposed to. She'd taken her eyes off the screen! The Asian girl snapped her attention back to the television set but it was too late. Her car had joined Jack's at the bottom of the canyon that the course was suspended over.

"No fair!" Miko pouted.

"You were the one trying to get me down there. Serves you right," Jack commented. Miko glared at the boy.

"Yeah...well...your driving's stupid," Miko searched her head for a comeback. Jack smiled.

"Yeah...we're getting back to normal a bit I think..." Jack said. Miko lifted a small smile as a tint of red creeped across her cheeks.

"Yeah...getting there...so...you got a movie picked out for later?" she asked. The older boy returned the coloring a bit.

"Uh...thought you could pick it out when you come over..." he replied. Miko nodded back.

"...yeah...we're getting there...still wasn't fair though."

Jack rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Lord Megatron...I hate to be the bearer of bad news but um...it seems that...the longer you've exposed yourself to Dark Energon the more and more your coding has gotten...rewritten..." Knockout informed. Megatron sat up on the medical bed, his mentality still a bit woozy. Never-the-less, he did understand that what he'd been told couldn't possibly be good.

"What exactly do you mean?" he inquired.

"Well, you see sir, being offspring of his brother we're bound to share certain...subtle similarities with the Dark One..." Knockout began, "And...well...being that we share the same basic primal...workings...you've sorta been turning your Energon supply into um...Dark Energon itself from what I can make of the readings from all the times you've had it in you..."

"WHAT?" Megatron roared. The red Decepticon backed up quite a ways in case of emergency. Thankfully, the titanic leader was far too sedated to really do much more than fumble about before crashing back onto the bed. "Ugh...spare me sympathy. I'm used to hard times. What all will happen if the rewriting of my code continues?" Knockout tapped his fingers together.

"Um...well you see sir, we haven't really had this type of situation before. You're the only Cybertronian in recorded history that's really done this to yourself...but if you want a theory...well you know how the Terrorcons are basically zombies influenced by Unicron to help in destroying everything with no individuality of their own?..." Megatron grimaced. "...yeah...um...well if you want I can get started on looking for a cure. Since you still have your Spark it should take a while, but...well let's not think about that. We have that whole supply of Energon from the last mining excursion to work with!"

"That which the ship needs to keep running," Megatron reminded.

"And what's the ship without a leader?" Knockout replied. Megatron sighed.

* * *

"So, this is your place huh?" Miko asked. All Jack could really do was nod. To keep up the facade of Bulkhead being "under doctor's supervision", Arcee had offered to drive them again. That meant that Miko's arms were wrapped around his body.

"For a doctor you'd think you're mom'd have a bigger house," she said.

"Nurse," Arcee corrected.

"Nurse, Doctor. Same dif," Miko shrugged. If Arcee were a human she'd probably have slapped Miko upside the back of the head, but given the circumstances it'd just interfere with Miko and Jack's "patching up" time they were planning. Besides, Jack wouldn't try that kind of stunt. He really was the Optimus of the group with how much he could hold himself back from temptation. Though now it might have been another matter that'd provoke such lack of will towards the idea.

"You two have fun now," Arcee said pulling into the garage, "I'm gonna power down for a bit." Once the motorcycle engine had stopped, Miko let go of the driver and hopped off, soon followed by Jack himself.

"Alright, so what do we got for snacks?" Miko asked rushing into the kitchen. Before Jack could do anything she'd flung the refrigerator door open and start nosing about in it. "Tofu?...why-"

"My mom likes to keep things healthy," Jack told her closing the fridge back up, "chips and cookies are in the cabinets." Miko gave him a sheepish smile before waltzing over to the counter where she attempted to eviscerate the contents of the small wooden doors hanging on the wall. Being sure to stop her first, Jack opened the third cabinet from the left and retrieved a packet of chips and a packet of cookies.

"So movie?" Jack asked tossing her the snacks. Miko snatched them up and nodded eagerly. The boy couldn't help but smile at the happy girl. A calm contrast to her, Jack lead the way through the house and to his room with Miko bouncing after him all the while.

"Movie night movie night movie night!" Miko shouted throwing herself onto the bed once the door had been opened. Greedily she tore open the snacks spraying crumbs everywhere. Jack's eye twitched a bit. "Uh...hehe...oops?" she said quietly. Sighing, Jack walked over and brushed the sheets off. Then Miko's eyes lit up. From beneath his bed he pulled out a rather sizable selection of DVDs.

"Holy hell!" she awed spitting out bits of cookies in the process. Jack pinched the bridge of his nose and wiped the sheets clean again.

"You got any you think you might wan-"

"Is that Alien!" Miko snatched the case from the box. Her jaw dropped. "And here I thought you'd have just a whole bunch of crappy indie flicks...oh wait here's one." Jack tried his best to ignore the movie that'd been tossed to the ground. "I mean of course I've seen Aliens, but never the first one!"

"So you wanna-"

"Woah! You also got Return of the Joker!...wait...YES! It's the uncut version!" Surprisingly, Jack found himself admiring the pure joy coursing through the girl. He'd never seen her so excited, especially not over things involving him. Of course...there were quite a few things he hadn't been expecting from her in the past days. For that moment he didn't seem to care about the cases she'd tossed aside or the crumbs careening down his covers. He was just happy to see her happy.

"Oh...so many choices..." Miko put her hands to her mouth while her eyes switched between the different selections. Seeing as the hyperactive girl wouldn't be able to come to a viable solution all that fast, Jack picked up the Alien DVD.

"How's about we watch this? You can always come back over again," he said. Miko lifted her brows.

"Sure like a girl in your bed don't ya?" she jested. Immediately Jack's cheeks reddened. "Hey, we may be working on "patching things up", but you just make it too...fun to pick on you sometimes," Miko winked, "Now come on, put in the movie!" Groaning at the joke, Jack walked over to the television and started messing with it. Still...it was nice to see her happy.

* * *

Agonizingly the pale body twisted and turned, its inner workings convulsing in an undying torment. That which had been implanted into its system taking hold and gaining complete control. The entity was finally being born. The host arched its body upwards to try and get away from the pain. It only provoked more movement within. The host tried to move, but hands kept it held down. Along the sides of the table were his crewmates. They were keeping him steady so that they might try to help. It was no use. There was no winning. With one last searing pang of hurt, the creature erupted from the body's chest cavity. Fluids streamed down its newly formed structure.

In the host's last moments he could make out just what it looked like. From within his chest sat a demonic entity. One of pure evil and malice. Its nature only that of destruction, its design taking on elements from his own. The features that really stood out however were the ones of the head. At each side jutted out a sharp horn and down its mouth hung an elderly mustache and beard. Just as the vision began to blur, the being looked at its host and let out an ungodly cry.

Megatron nearly fell off of his resting formation from the sudden shock that the noise had shaken through his body. Shuddering, he took in a breath of air to help cool down his overreacting inner components. Even though he was now awake he could still feel the presence lurking within him.

"KNOCKOUT!" he yelled turning on the com-link to the medic, "Have you found anything yet!"

* * *

"Well, all your talking towards the beginning aside, I quite enjoyed seeing it again," Jack summed up his thoughts. Pleasantly he stretched back on the bed putting his hands between the back of his head and the pillow. The only lighting was projected from the letters forming the credits sequence giving a rather ambient atmosphere to the bedroom. "Hope it was okay for you..." Miko tilted her head towards him.

"That...was...BADASS!" she exclaimed throwing herself down next to him, "I mean yeah, it was all slow at the beginning with the searching the planet crap, but then they get to the dining room and the guy's all like "I'm hungry, oh wait nope, alien coming out of chest-BLARGH!" Jack laughed at the explosion Miko imitated with her hands, "Definitely way more scary than any of the other movies ever were!" Miko started jabbing her fingers at Jack pretending it was the tail of the monster causing even more giggles from him, which she joined in on this time. As the credits came to a close the screen faded to black, and with it their voices. The only background to the air remaining was the hum of the DVD player.

It didn't take long for their eyes to become adjusted to the sudden darkness. Neither had expected the sun to be completely gone from the sky so quickly. Then again, neither bothered to think of how long the movie would actually take. Regardless, there they lay out of breath from the amusing impressions, smiling at each other.

"So...back to normal?..." Jack asked. Miko was glad that the shadows of the room hid the coloring of her face.

"Close enough for now."

-end of chapter-

Yeah, I spent pretty much an entire day just slapping this chapter together. That'll probably be why it is of less quality than the previous one (quality! HA! Oh if only...). Either way, hope it didn't turn out too bad. Oh yeah, and Megatron's now in the story. Who'd have guessed?

And for those that stuck around till after the movie: warahi(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/After-The-Credits-303187333


	4. Crouching Cheater Hidden Laughter

Chapter 4: Crouching Cheater Hidden Laughter

"Okay, what the scrap is up with this?" Bulkhead grumbled stomping the ground, "The cons just out of nowhere found five more Energon deposits and we only save one? What the Pit!"

"Bulkhead, calm down, you're going to wreck some of my-" CRUNCH! "...equipment..."

"Oops..." the green giant gulped. As quietly as possible he scraped what had been Ratchet's welding torch off of the bottom of his foot. Ratchet's stern glare was enough to pierce the plating of the Nemesis itself.

"Bulkhead, we can't help it. We're lucky to have even obtained one of the findings. It'll keep us going for quite some time. Sure the cons may have gotten their greasy mits on more, but they have more to dispense between the accumulations. If you must blow off steam I'd suggest getting Bumblebee for a game of basketball or something." Bulkhead sighed knowing that the medic was right. He shouldn't be as worked up as he was. With just a five-bot team it was impossible to do everything they desired. But still...it never felt good when the cons did get their way.

"So, still recovering from your operation huh?" Miko's voice sounded. Both bots looked down at the human in surprise. Neither had noticed her enter.

"Uh-uh Miko!" Bulkhead hopped to his feet in a panic, "Um-uh-yeah, I just was getting a check-over by doc-bot here." Ratchet grunted from the nudge Bulkhead gave him. At first his glare worsened but then he realized why he'd done it. Immediately he became just as flustered.

"Oh why yes! Bulkhead's still mending from that uh...snap...punch thing that Knockout gave him..." the red and white Autobot added plastering an innocent smile on his faceplates. Miko just rolled her eyes. Ratchet and Bulkhead glanced at each other nervously.

"...alright yeah...I'm fine..." Bulkhead muttered in defeat, "We just thought it'd help things along if you rode with Jack on-"

"Arcee?" Miko finished. Reluctantly her guardian nodded. "Yeah...well I been doin' that the past five days or so, and for some reason, now don't ask me why, I miss barreling down the street with you Bulky boy. Besides, it's not like that was the first time we've ridden Arcee together. And me and Jack finished making up the other night at his place. Any reason you kept this little act up for so long?" Bulkhead looked to the side and tapped his fingers together.

"Uh...needed it to be convincing..." he told her. Miko smiled and shook her head.

"You're a terrible actor."

"Oh like you're any better!" Bulkhead huffed.

"Yeah, I am," Miko stated crossing her arms.

"So what about when you and Raf had to cover for Jack when he went racing? You couldn't even fool Optimus!" Miko's mouth dropped a bit. Truth be told she was having trouble thinking of a rebuttal. When she finally did open her mouth however it wasn't her voice that spoke.

"To their credit, I probably did deserve to get found out about," Jack admitted. Miko's cheeks flushed a bit at the feeling of his arms wrapping around her throat from behind, "But if you really want I can strangle her. Just say the word."

"Go right ahead," Bulkhead shrugged. Too startled at the answer to brace herself, Miko soon found her head racketing back and forth in the wobbling embrace.

"Alright alright, knock it off!" she choked desperately. Jack's laughter joined Bulkhead's as he slowed to a stop. Figuring it fitting payment, Miko elbowed him in the stomach effectively quieting him.

"Ohoho...well, it's good to see you two finally being friends again at least," Bulkhead ended his laugh, "Either way though, I'm gonna go see if Bee's up for basketball." Yeah, for what it was worth, the mining excursions were little to get worked up over with what he had to entertain himself.

"Yeah...friends..." Miko said quietly glancing down at Jack's arms.

* * *

The red Decepticon hummed a little tune to himself as he worked. He so did enjoy his job. Though he more liked using his surgical knowledge to pick things apart, he still knew how to entertain himself in the more slow aspects. Namely finding cures for viruses and diseases. He would gladly let any patient know that he'd bore himself into stasis-lock as an alternative with how long such trial and error procedures took. But with the well-being of their leader at stake he had no such luck. It was face that or the end of Megatron's fusion cannon...if he hadn't fallen completely by that point. Should he actually take the full plunge...well needless to say Knockout's tires would be heard all around the Nemesis in his attempts to evacuate.

"Kn-knockout..." Megatron's voice rasped. The medic spun around.

"Lord Megatron! What are you doing up? You should be rest-"

"I still have a duty to my army," Megatron hissed, "The location of an interesting stockpile has popped up via Soundwave's hacking. I may be unwell, but I still need to lead. I simply came by to see how your cure was coming." Knockout put a hand to his head and started walking towards the tall Decepticon.

"Far be it for me to tell you how to lead sir, but maybe you should just leave someone else in charge wh-"

"And have a possible repeat of Starscream or Airachnid? I think not!" Megatron slammed his fist down on the medical table. The echo of the metal was followed by a ragged coughing fit. Knockout peered at the trembling figure curiously.

"...sir...you haven't been injecting more Dark Energon into yourself have you?..." he asked. Megatron's expression darkened.

"Of course not..."

"Good...cause I was gonna lock up the rest of that acursed material later to-"

"NO!" Megatron yelled. Knockout stumbled back a bit in fright. Yes, Megatron may have been unhealthy, but his imposition was just as menacing as ever. "I...uh, what I mean is...we should keep it handy...just in case of emergency..." Knockout scratched the back of his head as he searched for what line of logic his leader was proposing.

"Right...well you just give your orders and get back to resting. I should have some sort of result in the next few hours." Reluctantly, Megatron nodded and exited. "Yeah...I'm gonna at least start moving some of the Dark Energon..." the medic thought.

* * *

The floor felt like it was the victim of an earthquake with how much it was rumbling.

"And he goes for a left!" Miko narrated Bumblebee's swerving, "But Bulkhead so has him beat as he's going for right now to confuse him but has me yelling what's going on so-" The excited girl's talking became that of a muffle as a hand clamped down on it. Squinting her eyes at Jack, Miko shook about trying to get free. His grip however was surprisingly strong. Had to be, of course, to deal with her usual antics. Still, she needed to keep her guardian up-to-date. Viciously she rocked about pulling and pushing at the boy's limb.

"Yeah! Come on Bee!" Raf hopped up and down on the other side of Jack. Miko's brows bent towards him. Thinking of nothing else to do, the girl reeled back her leg and sent it into Jack's ankle.

"YOW!" he yelped as he grabbed the sight of impact, "The hell was that for!"

"Raf gets to talk!" Miko pointed out. Jack's expression flattened.

"He's cheering his bot on, not continuing an astronomical track record of cheating," Jack defended. Miko blew a stream of air out of her nose in annoyance.

"Oh you like it," she shrugged, "If I didn't try that crap you'd have nothing to do."

"God forbid I don't have headache," Jack murmured back, "Still, lost that round." Miko's eyes shot open and she whirled around. Crouched over below his net was Bulkhead, the ball clearly fallen through its hoop on the ground next to him.

"Come on Bulky! Get your head in the game!" Miko hollered running over to him, "Gotta show that bee the flyswatter! Lay the smackdown! You need an Energon drink or anything?" Jack and Raf smiled to each other confidently while the winner of the previous round continued to dance around the room in front of them. The following moments were pretty much just that until Bumblebee ended the routine by flipping the metal ball back into his hands with a kick and twirling it in front of the taller Autobot's face. Bulkhead grinned back at him and titled his head to his human companion. Giving him a wink, Miko rejoined her friends on the sidelines, a grin on her face.

"And how are you gonna cheat this time?" Jack wondered audibly. Miko fluttered her eyelids at him innocently.

"Me? Cheat? Jackson Darby, honestly, why would you propose such a thing?" she cooed, the happy demeanor still on her face. At first Jack gave his usual grimace to her but soon found himself smiling back. It'd be half-hearted to say that he didn't enjoy the interaction and challenge that the Asian presented. Wordlessly agreeing to watch how things played out, they turned their attention back to the game. For the first part of it the match went rather smooth. Miko cheered Bulkhead on and Jack and Raf cheered for Bumblebee. Then Bumblebee started weaving through Bulkhead's movements.

"LEFT!" Miko shouted. Before she even closed her mouth Jack's hand was on it. Knowing that he'd halted another chance of unfairness, he smiled at her. To his surprise he could feel her mouth gain the same expression as she wiggled her brows at him. Jack lifted his right one suspiciously. Since she wasn't able to talk anymore though, he slowly turned his attention back to the game. That didn't stop her from trying of course. Every now and then she would muffle something through his hand...and occasionally it did seem to somehow alert Bulkhead of the moves Bumblebee was trying to make.

Jack was completely perplexed by the phenomenon. Part of him however didn't care that much. His teenage mind was more preoccupied with the lips moving across his palms. Their sliding motions caressing his sense of touch, easing his mentality. He might have just turned his tune with reality off entirely if the atmosphere hadn't changed. All of a sudden Miko had jumped out of his grip and let out a joyous cheer. Bumblebee meanwhile rejoined Raf with a sense disappointment. Somehow Bulkhead had outmaneuvered the yellow Autobot...and done so a bit too good. Jack may have not been paying attention to the game as much as he should've, but he was still there. And he was just as shocked as Raf with how Bulkhead had countered even some of Bumblebee's most evasive techniques winning the match with ease.

Miko gave Jack a sly smile as the next round started up. She was up to something. Feeling it best not to take chances, the boy slapped hold of her mouth straight from the start this time causing her eye's to pop open in surprise. Jack gave her the same expression she had him when the match had started. Whether it was to get him to retract his hand or for some other reason, he felt Miko's lips press delicately into his palm turning his cheeks quite a bit darker. The hand had remained stubbornly where it was though. Miko shrugged at the possible failed attempt to get free and turned her attention back to the game to continue her muffled shouting. Only this time Jack noticed something.

Whenever her voice would vibrate, more than just her mouth would move. Towards her body, her hands would jolt around. Sometimes they would point, other times they would spread the fingers out in certain directions. Either way, Jack had solved the mystery. But Miko didn't just deserve to be told to stop. No, she always deserved special treatment. Jack waited until just the moment that her hands started to move and struck. All at once he could feel her mouth begin to wriggle from the laughter she bit back. And as predicted Bulkhead attempted to figure out what all Miko's fidgeting hands were doing long enough for Bumblebee to snatch the ball from him. Realizing he'd have to fend for himself, the green giant dove for the ball and Jack halted his attack.

Miko squinted at Jack who just smiled back. But that wouldn't stop her. It took a few seconds for Bulkhead to lie in need of aide again so once more she tried to signal what Bumblebee was doing. And once again Jack's fingers rubbed into her side. Miko started to get teary eyed from the tickling. Her hands fidgeted uncontrollably confusing Bulkhead enough that he just decided to stop paying attention to her all-together. That's when Miko decided enough was enough. More playful than anything, Miko gently bit Jack's hand enough to make him finally take it away.

"Bulkhead! Bumblebe-mrpfr...FRMRPHHRFHRPH!" Miko's free voice soon found itself captured beneath Jack's returned grasp. The moment he saw her starting up the sign language he attacked her tummy with his free hand sending her into a fit of muted laughter. The higher his hands climbed the louder and more crazy it got. After a good thirty seconds he finally stopped the tickling and took his hand off of her mouth. Miko stood next to him knee-bent and gasping for air. She didn't realize her cheeks were burning until she looked down. The heat accompanied Jack's face also once he realized that his hand was still lying on her chest. Their eyes slid to each other's and Jack pulled away quickly.

Fortunately, Bumblebee and Bulkhead had been too preoccupied with their game to notice. The rest of the match played as quietly as two hopping robots could with the occasional forced cheer from Miko. Regardless of the input of the crowd, it was Bulkhead who took the fall with Bumblebee slam-dunking the ball right into the floor below the net. Both Autobots fell to the ground exhausted from the exercise and started laughing with each other allowing Miko and Jack to exit the room unnoticed by them. Raf's eyes watched them till they rounded the hallway beyond and lifted a brow.

* * *

"Okay guys...what was that all about?" Rafael Esquivel demanded. The two older teenagers looked down at the smaller boy that had entered the kitchen area. Feigning innocence, they gave each other a fake look of confusion.

"What do you-"

"You know. Back at the game. Jack kept his hand on...uh..." Raf cut Jack off before trailing into mumbles.

"It's called a boob," Miko informed pointing at her chest. Raf looked down at his feet shamefully.

"It was a mistake..." Jack told him kneeling down next to Raf and putting a hand on his shoulder. Miko glanced at her chest in thought. "Look, we're just friends alright? It was an accident. Body parts end up in embarrassing places sometimes, you know that."

"And you being all touchy and everything?" Raf reminded, "Walking off when Bee and Bulkhead were distracted without even talking?...That stuff isn't normal friend stuff...you sure you guys aren't making things too hard on yourselves or anything?"

"We're just...better friends now...and we needed some time to...just be alone after that..." Jack was finding the interrogation increasingly hard to cope with.

"Yeah, besides, I didn't mind," Miko shrugged. Both boys stared at her. "Uh...what I meant is I thought it felt fine, I mean-uh-if he really wanted he could have squeezed and I wouldn't hav-damnit! Um...I uh...I'm fine. We're fine. Everything's fine." Miko's smile stretched from ear to ear. Raf viewed Miko with an uneasy thought and then looked at Jack. They both did look like they were stressed about the whole thing beneath the mask of lifted spirits. And if they really were trying to be friends, he certainly wasn't helping matters...

"You're going to be just investigating. No smashing anything up, no alerting any possible cons that you're there. Just scouting," Ratchet's voice broke the group out of the predicament. Jack and Miko heaved a sigh of relief and rushed out to the excuse to hear what mission their guardians would be undertaking. Raf followed much slower behind, his mind ever-working. What all really was going on with them?...

-end of chapter-

Yeah...not much happenin' this time. Brain fried from not really getting much sleep so this is what you get. A basketball game and an accidental boob-grab...

...woohoo?

Here's Miko being tickled: warahi(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/You-Cheat-You-Laugh-303496156


	5. Mixed Intentions

Chapter 5: Mixed Intentions

"God I love that song!" Miko drummed the dashboard in front of her. As usual Bulkhead had joined in singing what he could remember of the lyrics, but his main focus, as always, was the road. With the radio switching to commercials, Miko flipped it off and stretched back in the passenger's seat. "So, you gonna tell me what all the mission was like?"

"Oh nothing much. Just some old Decepticon laboratory that looked like it'd been abandoned for ages." The girl's eyes widened at the information.

"Oh kick ass!" she cheered, "were there any like experiments that had all sorts of body parts sewn into one big body?" Bulkhead mentally cringed at the girl's morbid description and...eerie fascination with such a concept.

"Um...no..."

"Damn," she muttered snapping her fingers, "We coulda gone back there and set up a lightning rod to bring it to life if it were there..." Bulkhead was thoroughly confused as to where she would have gotten the idea from to begin with. Despite how ridiculous the whole concept of the life-through-lightning scrap was, what purpose would a cobbled-together body serve for the Decepticons? "I'd have named it Transmutate if it'd been up to me," she declared.

"Transformer Mutant...well, it is a bit cool sounding when you put it together," Bulkhead admitted. In retrospect he really would've loved taking care of none more than Miko. For all the trouble she was worth, she was just so much fun. Sure Bumblebee knew how to hang out, but he wasn't exactly the best talker in the world, nor did he have the same style as the human girl did. Her immaturity was, in a way, sort of cute and really helped lighten up the atmosphere when things were down.

"And don't forget, movie night tonight. You taking me and Jack over his place!" Miko squealed with delight. Bulkhead simply laughed through the radio. Rarely had he seen her so happy before, especially about the oldest boy of the group. They really did seem to be getting closer together ever since they'd patched things up that one night. "Oh it'll be so awesome! I already know which movie I wanna see! And this time," Miko chuckled producing a bag from her pocket, "Brought my own snacks..."

"Well don't worry, I'll be here," Bulkhead promised as he came to a stop. Looking automatic to people from the outside, the door popped open allowing Miko to hop out.

"Best guardian ever!" Miko exclaimed hugging the exterior of the vehicle, "Rock the fuck on!"

"Peace!" Bulkhead replied. Routine by now, the girl let the car slide out of her grasp and speed off into town leaving her to turn towards the school. Standing at the front steps was Raf.

"You seem pretty happy today," he said.

"Well duh, it's movie night. Of course I'm happy!" Miko exclaimed wrapping her arms around the smaller boy and twirling him around. Dizzingly he stumbled about after being set down, but his mind was still in place.

"Movie night? Why didn't anyone tell me?" he asked, his eyes still spinning.

"Oh not one at the base, this is just me and Jack getting together after school like when we made up. I've still got tons of his stuff to watch!" Miko informed bouncing up and down excitedly. Raf cleaned out his ear to make sure he'd heard right.

"So you go over to his house...after school...and watch movies with him now?..." Raf asked.

"Well not every day silly, but yeah."

"Like...a date?" Raf continued peering over the rims of his glasses.

"Yeah kinda," she replied. Just then her mouth formed a small o-shape. "I mean no! No, nuh-uh! Not like that! It's just, you know, hangin' out!..." A small smile began to form on the younger boy's face.

"Uhuh..." he murmured sarcastically, "And I suppose none of that "boob-grabbing"'s been going on either when I'm not around?" She didn't know how, but the smaller human certainly did know how to paint her face scarlet.

"Course not," she growled, "We're just friends..." Forcefully she grabbed Raf by the shoulders, spun him around, and started marching him to the front doors of the school, "Now come on boy wonder, class is about to start and I know you of all kids won't wanna be late."

* * *

Happily the Asian girl skipped through the halls. It was one of her favorite times of the day. Lunch time! Casually she strolled through the locker-filled hallways. All around her adolescents of all shapes and sizes went about their business preparing for classes, chatting, and various other activities. She however just had one destination. Her friends. If she was able to, she always tried to run into them to accompany them to wherever they'd set up shop to feast. Simply made things easier and faster time-wise.

Right on schedule, Miko walked by Raf's locker. He was already gone. But dead ahead was her main target. Jack. Miko's mouth spread into a grin as thoughts began to flow through her mind. It was the perfect opportunity. His back was to her and he had no idea she was there. But how exactly should she scare him? There was always the standby of sneaking up and shouting in his ear. Then of course there was a simple hug to make him jump. But neither of those would do. As she got within six feet of him, Miko began to crouch. She was almost about to leap onto his back when she noticed something. He was talking to someone. Sierra. Miko's eyes blinked, her train of thought derailed. No, now she had an even better idea.

"So I was sayin-"

"Hi Jack!" Miko chimed slipping into view between the two taller teens effectively causing them both to take a step back in shock. Jack put a hand on his chest to calm his breathing a bit. Miko had an uncomfortably large smile on her face. He didn't have time to deal with any of her shenanigans at the moment. Remembering just who she'd interrupted the conversation with, Jack looked past Miko's shoulder. Sierra was still there.

"Uh...hi Miko. Look, I'm in the middle of-"

"Oh it'll just take a second. I was just wondering whether we were still on for movies tonight," she cooed innocently. Jack's face dropped. He didn't have to look at Sierra to notice how uncomfortable the sentence had made her.

"Uh, I should...probably get going...my friend's waiting for me," Sierra murmured. Before Jack could say anything she'd turned and walked off.

"Oh that's right!...Bulkhead's gonna pick us both up. How could I've forgotten?...well see you at the lunch table!" Miko laughed lightly. Satisfied with her feat, the girl resumed her trek towards the cafeteria. Jack was left with his mouth hanging open and his eye twitching. It didn't take him long though to start after her. The girl peered back and snickered to herself. Liesurely she waltzed through the doors to the chamber of eating and headed over to a table with only one person at it. Rafael.

"Hey Miko," Raf said looking up from his sandwich.

"Yo," she replied dropping down across from him, "One...two...thre-"

"Alright Miko, what the hell was that all about back there?" Jack muttered sliding in next to Raf. Miko eyed the spot of the table in front of him.

"No lunch? Don't worry, you can have one of my rice balls," she smiled.

"Miko..."

"It'd help if you explained what you were talking about," she egged him on. Jack's teeth were gritting behind his lips.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" he hissed. Raf gave Miko a curious glance. She kept the smile forced on her face. "All that "I'm gonna shoot any chance Jack has with Sierra," crap you pulled back there!" Raf put a hand to his forehead.

"Hey, relax, it was a joke," Miko playfully punched his arm. The twitching to Jack's eye returned. "You got just as much a chance with her as you've ever had. You know that."

"Just as much of a chance as when Arcee drove Sadie to pick me up in front of her," Jack grumbled.

"Exactly!" Miko cheered, "So...you want the rice ball or no?" Jack glared at her. "I'm sowwy..." she stuck out her lower lip and fluttered her eyelids at him. Unable to keep his stern demeanor looking at her playful state, Jack turned his head to the side.

"...gimme have half of one."

* * *

"Dreadwing?...Dreadwing! Where are you!" Knockout called. Things really were different with Breakdown gone these days. Back then if he needed help he could just call on his ever-willing assistant. Now that he was going it solo though it took a servo and a T-cog to even get the slightest bit of help. Not to mention none of the Decepticons were ever where he thought they might be. Dissatisfied, Knockout pondered the thought of giving up. And he just might have too had he not passed by a room that had the loyal leiutenant within it.

"Dreadwing!" Knockout exclaimed excitedly. Surprised by the tone of the medic's voice, the seeker turned his attention away from the bridge.

"Yes doctor?" he asked.

"I was just wondering if you'd like to roll with me down planet-side for a bit," Knockout suggested. Hope brimmed beneath his optics. Dreadwing cringed a bit.

"Uh...sorry but you're not exactly...my type..." the seeker explained. Knockout smacked his forehead. Why did EVERY con think that he was THAT kind of bot?

"No you delinquent, I'm asking if you can go with me on a mission," he sighed. Now he had the flight-based Decepticon's interest.

"What kind of mission?" Dreadwing asked, "And pray tell, why isn't Megatron briefing me?" Knockout bit his lower lip nervously. Here came the hard part.

"Well you see...Megatron isn't really...fit to give the mission right now," he replied bracing himself. All he could hope was that Dreadwing was more reasonable than he gave him credit for. Needless to say there was a bit of a dark look from the seeker, but any animosity was restrained behind the calm demeanor.

"And why do you say that?"

"Well...Megatron's sort of...unhealthy at the moment. Our beacons today picked up signals that the Autobots had been in a Decepticon lab on this planet that I've never seen before in our records. I was thinking it might help get a cure for our grand leader." Dreadwing's expression lightened a bit. Sure the medic might not be the most dependable, but he wasn't one for trying to overturn their leader himself.

"Very well," Dreadwing agreed. Knockout let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

"School's out for summer!...school's for evah!" Miko sang as the group exited the education center. As per usual they were some of the last students out due to the Autobots' desire to have as few civilians around as possible when they picked their human charges up.

"Miko, I hope you realize that-"

"I know, it's nowhere close to summer," the girl drolled cutting Raf off, "Just felt right to say...and I can't wait for the movie tonight! I know exactly what I wanna watch!" Eagerly she twirled around and slung her arm around Jack's neck, "It will be AWESOME! Heard only great things about it!" Jack rolled his eyes. Disturbed by the lack of a response, Miko glanced up at him and gave him a shake. "Yoohoo, Earth to Jacky boy..."

"You're right next to me. I can hear you." he muttered back. Miko put a finger to her chin and stroked it.

"Oh...you're still on about that whole Sierra thing..." she realized in a rather distasteful voice. The continued silence gave the obvious answer.

"Maybe you could talk to him about it and you?" Raf winked at her. Miko sent him a bit of a shocked look. A light blush crept across her face. Was he still insisting that she?... How many times would she have to tell the munchkin that she and Jack were just friends?...she'd only gotten Sierra away from him as a fun little gag...right?

"Tell you what, how's about I make it up to you?" Miko offered. Jack glanced down at her. His face lit up as she grabbed his hand and placed it on her soft chest. "Boobgrab! Happy now?" Immediately he yanked his hand back to his side. Embarrassment washed over both boys. Miko's cheerful demeanor on the other hand was yet to be stopped. She'd gotten at least some reaction out of Jack. Minutes passed and eventually a yellow and a green car showed up. The humans slipped into their respective vehicles and were off through the streets.

"Alright, so whatcha think of this? We get some hot chocolate, take them to bed, and curl up all nice and snug under the covers while watching the movie?" Miko asked leaning over from the driver's side of the green vehicle. Jack looked out his window. "Come on, gimme something to work with will ya? I'll let ya have another boobgrab if you really want..." the girl pleaded for a way to lift his spirits, "Raf's not around this time. Just you and me-"

"And me," Bulkhead reminded through the radio. Without turning to look at it she slammed her fist down on the device. "HEY!" the voice yelped. For a split second she saw the corners of Jack's mouth lift. But only for that brief moment. For the rest of the trip, Jack mainly kept his eyes focused on the outside world and his lips zipped. No matter what her attempts were, Miko just could not get him to react.

"Well here we are little miss bash my innards to the Allspark," Bulkhead grumbled wheeling into Jack's driveway. Apologetically she gave the steering wheel a hug and hopped out.

"You know I love ya big guy," she said patting the side of the car. Hearing that the other door had shut, Miko bounced around to the other side to walk with Jack to the door. He was wordless. He was about to grab the handle of the front door when Miko's hand stopped his.

"It was a joke," she repeated, "Get the fuck over it." Jack glared down at her.

"Sure, after you get over someone driving some guy you like away. I'm sure it's just as humorous when you're on my end," he muttered. Miko opened her mouth to say something but found no words to speak. Instead her eyes turned to her feet. The distraction out of the way, Jack grabbed the handle and opened the door. On the other side stood a woman. Within a moment's notice their faces held joyful masks.

"Hi mom."

"Hello miss Darby." The older woman looked at the Asian girl suspiciously.

"Again?" June asked folding her arms, "You sure do enjoy each other's company these days it seems." Jack cringed due to the day's events. Miko however wrapped her arm around his neck and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Soon enough you might be having to say goodbye to him," Miko jested. June closed her eyes and blew some air out of her nose.

"If only."

"HEY!" Jack exclaimed causing the two females to laugh. June moved aside to let the teenagers in. As she'd learned to do whenever the adult was around, Miko pulled off her boots and set them in front of the closet. Afterwards she stretched and looked herself over in the mirror on the door.

"You would probably look better with your hair down," Jack's mom commented pulling at the pigtails.

"Maybe here. But back in Japan this is totally stylish," she assured the older woman, "...hey, where's Jack?"

"Already in his room," June replied jabbing her thumb to the hall. Quickly Miko dashed to it. She didn't want Jack to mess up on the movie selection. But more importantly she also needed to do something before the movie started. As quietly as possible she slipped in and shut the door. After making sure it was locked she slithered up behind Jack who was hunched over the box of DVDs. Unfortunately the boy was too lost to really be scared. He completely ignored the first two or three taps. It was only when Miko grabbed him and forced him onto the bed that he finally paid attention. There the girl sat with her legs on his. Lightly she rubbed her nose against his. He could feel her breath on his face.

"Look..." she said quietly, "I'm...really really sorry about what happened earlier...you know me...I just...can't help myself sometimes...but I'll do whatever I need to to make it up to you. Really don't want it going back to us not talking..." Uneasily Jack allowed his gaze to fall on Miko's face. In a rare spectacle her eyes were fully open, sincerity and desire behind them. "...not when we've come this far..." Absent-mindedly, the their faces had started to drift together. Just when their lips were about to meet however, Jack pulled back a bit and hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist instead. Though her mind begged for more, Miko returned the embrace. Relieved of the stress that she'd caused, they fell over on their sides on the bed and smiled at each other.

"I want to see The Thing."

-end of chapter-

As with a few Miko / Jack fan-things you have to have Miko getting in Sierra's way somehow. Even though it'd probably never happen in the show, I'm sure they'd allow it if Miko was trying to have fun. Personally, I highly doubt Miko and Jack will end up together in canon. Say what you will about Sierra, but it's obvious that the show's creators designed her as an obstacle for Jack to overcome and impress and crap.

However I must also say something else. I appreciate when people leave comments and give their thoughts, but if you're basically going to say "Hey! Great chapter!" then please do not bother. Unless you're actually going to say something about the story, I'd rather you not clutter up the review section. No offense.

But anyhow, another chapter down.

Miko be mischief maker: warahi(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Yo-303762483


	6. Arachnophobia

Chapter 6: Arachnophobia

"So where exactly is this thing?" Dreadwing asked. Currently he was soaring a few meters above the ground of the heat-drenched nation of Africa. Beneath him sped a red sports car with a team of black sleek ones behind it. Around them was nothing but parched sand and trees. An ape, a cheetah, a rat, and a rhino peered up over their dwellings at the cloud of dust they trailed. It wasn't everyday that such high-tech activity wandered about their lands.

"It should be...right...HERE!" Knockout declared transforming eagerly into robot-mode followed by the rest of his squad of Vehicons. Crazily he shook his legs, "I can not believe this place! It's not as bad as that Egypt sandpit, but by Primus I think my gears alone must need a good five or six carwashes after this!" Dreadwing muttered something under his breath and fell to the ground in robot-mode.

"...so where is it?" Dreadwing asked again. Knockout put his foot down irritably.

"I said it's right...here?" The red Decepticon put a hand on his hip and looked around. There was nothing but wilderness. Seeing nothing of interest, he instead flipped out a device and pressed a few buttons on it. "...yeah...it says it should be right here...so what the scrap?"

"Maybe you aren't looking in the right direction," Dreadwing suggested. Knockout followed the officer's weapon to the ground. He processed the thought through his head and clapped his hands.

"Alright boys, get to digging!" he ordered. While the Vehicons began assembly a drill, Knockout walked over to a tree and leaned against it. Dreadwing paused a moment before accompanying him.

"Any reason we aren't helping the troops?" he asked.

"Who wants grimy servos?" Knockout smiled looking his fingers over. Dreadwing rolled his eyes.

* * *

"So then he was all "I'm not really dead! Here's my stomach mouth! NOM!"!" Miko exclaimed waving her arms around wildly. Raf had never seen the girl going so crazy over a movie before. He looked to Jack to see if he had any input. He just smiled and shrugged. "And then at the end it was just this big mess of bleh that had a dog coming out of the stomach and then the dynamite and I have to go to the bathroom!" Before either boy could get done comprehending what all was coming out of the girl's mouth, she had departed from the couch and rushed down the stairs. Raf shook his head violently and turned to Jack.

"Now...what was this-"

"The Thing," Jack answered. Raf's mouth curved in different directions.

"Sounds..."

"Violent."

"Yeah," Raf smiled, "So I take it you two got over the whole Sierra mess after you got home?" Jack's brows straightened and he looked to the side. "I'll take that as a yes," Raf laughed a bit, "and did the rest of the night go fine once you two got that out of the way?"

"As fine as it can be with her," Jack playfully scoffed. Raf's eyes narrowed. With Miko gone it was the perfect opportunity to do some more snooping.

"Which means exactly?..."

"Oh her getting crumbs all over my bed," Jack sighed.

"Spilling drinks?" Raf suggested.

"Oh yeah." he smiled

"Taking all the covers?"

"It's like you know her," Jack chuckled.

"Trying to force more filthy asian food on you?"

"Uh huh," Jack was nodding by this point.

"And of course the cuddling," Raf smirked.

"Oh don't get me started on-" Jack's voice stopped coming out of his mouth though it continued moving a bit feebly. Raf grinned at him. "N-now, it's not what you think. She gets scared sometimes and...you know, needs someone to-"

"Have fun with?" Raf finished. Jack cringed slightly. There was no good way to get around the error he'd made. Seeing that he was causing such discomfort though, Raf eased back a bit. This was Jack he was talking to after all, not the headstrong idiot that was the girl of their team. "You know it's alright if you like her..."

"But I don't! I like Sierra!" Jack insisted. Raf's eyes slid around the rim of his glasses lazily.

"Why?" the shorter boy asked. Jack's eyebrows bent in confusion.

"What do you mean why? She's...well...I don't know if you're old enough to understand exactly-"

"We hang around Miko, I'm old enough," Raf told him in a deadpan voice. Jack hesitantly scratched the back of his head.

"Well...she's exactly the opposite of Miko..." Jack finally decided on a reason.

"You mean stale as a cracker?" Raf almost spat. Jack looked at him in shock. He'd never heard the younger human use such a tone before. He wasn't at all used to him being irritated. But why would he be? It's not like there really was something going on with them...not really...

"She's charming," Jack gave a weak defense, "Look, why are you concerned about this?"

"Well first of all, Miko's got a charm too...just her own type...And secondly, cause you two are some of my only friends," Raf he said, "outside of my family I mainly just got you and the bots. So I wanna know, TRUTHFULLY, do you have feelings for Miko? I mean ever since your little makeup you've practically been inseperable except for her getting between you and Sierra, which I'd say wouldn't be much of a loss in the longrun if things worked out differently. And before you say it, yeah. You two still get at each other's throats but it's a lot more...playful now." For several seconds Jack was quiet. He didn't know why he even bothered to dwell on the matter. He should have had the answer right from the start. The word "No"...but he didn't... Eventually he lifted his head and opened his mouth when suddenly Miko came back up.

"My bladder has been relieved!" she declared. Jack cocked a brow to Raf.

"...her own type," he smiled sheepishly. Just then a loud wail sounded throughout the base causing the humans to rush down the steps and over to Ratchet's console where the Autobots had taken to congregating.

"What's going on?" Jack asked.

"One of our beacons that we leave at sites has been activated," Ratchet told the group, his fingers continually rapping across the keyboard, "It's...the lab?" Ratchet put his face closer to the screen to see if he'd read it correctly.

"Guess the cons are going into science again," Bulkhead murmured, "Which can't mean anything good for us..."

"Or anyone they might use as test subjects for whatever they're doing," Arcee added.

"Whoa, wait, as in the lab you told me about the other day?" Miko hopped up and down excitedly, "I wanna-"

"Scrap no!" Bulkhead yelped. Instantly the Asian girl deflated.

"Miko, you don't understand. Cons are bad enough on their own. But their labs...were the things of nightmares to us Autobots," Arcee told her. Jack put a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. The touch seemed to cheer her up enough that she was able to stand up. Still, that lingering envy of adventure lurked beneath her very shell.

"Ratchet, we may require your assistance," Optimus told the medic. The red and white Autobot's face sunk a bit.

"Me? But what about the groun-"

"I believe Rafael has proven rather useful in the role in the past," the Autobot leader looked at the small boy. He smiled back and approached the console.

"...well...alright..." the oldest member of Prime's followers nodded, "Let's transform..."

"And roll out," Optimus finished. On cue each of the Autobots morphed into vehicle-mode. Miko and Jack waved from the sidelines while Raf started up the portal.

"...you're going with em aren't you?" Jack asked out of the side of his mouth.

"And you're going to try and stop me aren't you?" Miko asked back.

"...let's get started." Only fair, Jack decided to let the girl have a five second head-start. And that's all she needed to slip into Bulkhead unnoticed.

"Jack!" Raf cried from the controls above.

"I'm on it!" he called back. It took Jack even less time to pile into the green car. Partly cause the girl he was chasing pulled him in herself. They felt the vehicle hum to life as it started towards the shining gateway in front of it. Meanwhile, the two humans wrestled around inside trying to get the upper hand on the other.

"You are not taking me alive!" Miko announced happily.

"What a relief," Jack smirked back. Giving her own smarmy look, the girl pushed roughly against the floor of the car and flipped Jack over so that she was the one holding him to the ground. "Why must you be such a pain in the ass all the time?" he asked light-heartedly.

"Cause you don't wanna get rid of me bad enough is what I'm guessing," Miko shot back. Not really giving much care to the whole confrontation, the girl let herself by pushed to the ground allowing Jack the opportunity to pounce back on her and pin her wrists.

"If you weren't that bad would we be in these situations all the time?" he questioned. Just then Miko's cheeks lit up. Then his did. Simultaneously they looked down at their bodies. They met at the pelvis.

"...would you wanna not be in them?" she asked quietly. Jack's blushing intensified. Miko's head slowly began lifting to his, her lips parted a bit. "Jack?..."

"Miko..."

"Boobface!" she suddenly yelled slamming his face down into her chest. Obviously flustered by the unexpected change of setting, the boy reeled back.

"Hey! I though-"

"Haven't catched me for good yet," she winked.

"It's caught..." Jack corrected.

"Fact still remains," Miko told him with a mischievous smile and grabbed hold of the door. Knowing that Bulkhead wasn't going too fast, she flung it open and hopped out soon followed by her pursuer.

"Alright, well I got you now!" Jack declared. As they rounded a nearby corner he managed to grab her by the arm and wrap the other around her throat. Miko struggled and fought, though to Jack it felt more like just squirming around against his body, but his grip was unbreakable regardless. The struggle dying down, Miko glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him.

"Alright tough guy, fine. Just sad that you never get a reward for your troubles." Jack lifted a brow.

"Well if I remember right you were starting something back in Bulkhead," he reminded. Miko's smile grew.

* * *

"Ugh, sure is nice to be through all that dirt up top, but scrap if it isn't dark down here..." Knockout murmured. Normally Dreadwing would simply ignore the medic's whining, but he did have a point this time. And added to that, none of the place seemed all that...accepting to him. There was just something in the air that gave off an atmosphere of uneasiness. "AH! Here we go!" Knockout announced bringing the air commander's view back to him, "Power switch!...hm...seems a bit rusty..." The medic poked and prodded at the device but nothing happened. The thing wouldn't budge. Signalling for Knockout to get out of the way, Dreadwing hunched over it and pulled...and pulled...but the thing just didn't want to seem to move! Fed up with the stubborn lever, Knockout rejoined in the effort and with a snap the switch flipped to the other side.

* * *

"Alright, enough playing around," Jack said bringing his head back. Miko pouted a bit at the retraction of his lips. "We had our little game of Catwoman and Batman. Time to find the Autobots and get back to base." Miko mockingly mouthed the last sentence enticing Jack to pull her along the hallway. For most of the path she was reluctantly dragged towards the direction that the Autobots had gone towards. When they were within ten-to-fifteen feet of a door with a diamond-shaped symbol on it at the end though something happened. All of a sudden the hallway hummed to life. The entire setting lit up. What could be described as the pulsing of a heart could be heard beneath the metal that paved the way. Then a screen next to them flickered on, a purplish head in it.

* * *

"I just don't understand why Decepticons would have such small equipment," Ratchet muttered putting a finger to his chin, "It's almost as if it was designed for humans to interact with this place more than a Cybertronian..."

"Maybe it was a Decepticon Mini-Con facility," Bulkhead suggested, "Their symbols are on the doors after all." Lazily Arcee walked through the chamber and kicked over a chair. Just before it hit the ground however it became suspended in the air. Curiously she bent down and inspected the fallen piece of furniture. Holding it up were strands of webbing! "Either way, where's the intruder?" Bulkhead wondered aloud. Suddenly the room flickered to life. Instinctively the Autobots drew their weapons and backed into a circle so that all sides of the group were defended.

"I think it might be Airachnid. Webbing's all over-" Arcee began to give her thoughts when a loud laughing crackled over the room. All the Autobots turned their attention to an ancient decrepit monitor on the wall. Giggling within it was a metallic purple face with a yellow visor and two horns coming off the sides of the head.

"What is that?" a stuck-up voice asked. Dreadwing smacked his forehead. Knckout had completely ruined any element of surprise that they might have had. A few of the Autobots turned to the newcomers, but Optimus and Ratchet kept their eyes on the screen.

"Well well well..." the voice chuckled, "Looks like I have some intruders! Well, whether you be Autobot, Decepticon, Humans, Maximals, Predacons, or whatever the slag else might exist this time, you're gonna have to be terminated. And if you're the Vok I have a special way to deal with you annoying ghosts!...so yeah...please die and have a nice day!" With a wave the character faded out of the screen and the Decepticons and Autobots gave each other their full attention.

"So...this place isn't yours?..." Arcee asked. Knockout shook his head.

"We just...came here cause I saw this place show up as a Decepticon lab. But...the scrappin' thing doesn't even have our insignia anywhere!" the medic grumbled, "And I've never seen that...thing that was on the screen before in my life...added to that, some of the tech I've run across here appears to have existed before our race even began..." Bulkhead and Bumblebee gave each other worried looks. Normally they'd be fine with duking it out with the intruders, but as things stood they were just as little of participants as the Autobots themselves were.

"The only thing this planet has from before our time would be..."

"Unicron..." Ratchet finished Optimus' sentence with a shudder. Dreadwing's eyes lit up.

"Ah yes, I remember hearing about that..." he muttered, "Then I wouldn't call it too far of a stretch for Unicron's tech to be able to pass-"

"As close enough to Cybertron's to pick up on some frequencies..." Optimus Prime realized.

"Hey guys..." Bulkhead muttered. During the conversation he and Arcee had gone back to the door they'd come through, "...we're locked in..."

* * *

"It...won't...open!" Miko grunted. Unable to keep her strained grip, she fell back on the ground and shook her head, "What the hell!"

"Miko?" a deep voice sounded. The girl's eyes expanded and she and Jack put their ears up against the door.

"Bulkhead?" she asked back.

"What the scrap are you doing here!" he hollered.

"Hi to you too. Open this thing up!" she told him.

"There'd be a problem with that," Ratchet informed, "We've been locked in by whatever was on our monitor a little bit ago. Right now the room's filling up with enough concentrated acid that we aren't even going to have remains soo-"

"WE'RE GONNA FUCKING DIE!" a farther off voice cried.

"Was that...Knockout?" Miko wondered, "Wait...acid! We gotta save them-"

"Oh no! You get your ass back to base right now little miss-"

"Wait here a sec!" Miko put up a finger to Jack before dashing down the hall.

"...she ran off didn't she?" Bulkhead asked.

"Yep..."

"I THINK IT'S IN MY WHEELS!" Knockout screamed, "THIS'LL RUIN MY PAINTJOB!...oh yeah...and my life I guess." Jack partly wished he was in there and transformer sized simply to shut the overreacting medic up. After a few seconds Miko reappeared and was now running at the door.

"COMING THROUGH!" she yelled. Hesitantly Jack leapt back allowing the crazed girl to launch herself at the metal and slam an ax into it.

"YOW!" multiple voices sounded from the other side. Miko on the other hand bounced back, her hands vibrating from the impact. Her teeth chattered so much that she felt like they were going to rattle out of her head.

"Dear...god!" Jack groaned rubbing his ears, "...where the hell did you even get that from?"

"K-k-kee-p a sp-spare in Bulk-head," her teeth clattered, "t-toss-sed it out wh-when we arr-rived..." Jack rubbed his forehead. Most of the initial echo was wearing off, but it still left quite a bit of a pang in his head. Seeming to not have learned her lesson the first time, Miko lifted the ax again. Hastily Jack pulled it out of her grip and tossed it to the side.

"Should only be a bit longer now," the head announced appearing on the screen next to them again. Even without her ax Miko threw herself to the door. Jack did all she could to hold her back. Even if she managed to get it open it'd likely kill them with what lay inside.

"MIKO!...STOP IT!" Jack ordered through gritted teeth. The heels of his shoes had to be grinding to dust with how much effort it took to keep her in place. The Asian continued to pull and grunt but Jack was simply just too determined.

"Let go!...I have to save them and win the day!" she whined. With one last tug Jack pulled her back into his arms and constricted them around her body.

"No. What you NEED to do is not constantly sneak along when you're told not to," he muttered into her ear, "You need to follow orders and do things with a straight head. You don't always have to show off. All the bots have seen what you can do. Should be enough for you."

"Is it enough for you?" she asked. Jack looked down at the girl. Her cheeks were blushing.

"...what are you talking about?..." he whispered.

"Those things aren't worth showing off without someone that I want to notice them," she muttered back. A sense of sympathy washed over him a bit. Delicately he pressed his head into her hair and nuzzled it a bit.

"Alright fine..." he smiled, "but don't be a dumbass about all this. We need to find a way to actually get the thing open..." Minutes passed while the voices on the other side of the wall intensified, Knockout's in particular. But with the female now calmed down Jack could actually think. From all that he could tell there was no terminal with which to operate the door...so how could the-

"The monitor thingy's connected to the guy controlling things right?" Miko reasoned, "Let's just follow its wires and get to the control room." Jack's eye widened a bit.

"...Miko...I think you found a brain."

* * *

Jack and Miko had no idea how long it had been since they started their venture. Could've been minutes, could've been hours. Time passed differently in the confined vent they were now crawling in. It hadn't taken long for the pair to find a panel and pry it open. After that it was a simple matter of crawling through the walls of the place. They'd likely have no clue where to go had there not been a large cable that seemed to run through all the intersections of the vents. Unfortunately, the place had very little lighting. Neither of them could see more than a few feet in front of them. Due to that Jack slammed face-first into the end of the long stretch.

"Not that I don't mind looking at your ass, but are we still moving?" Miko asked after bumping into him. Jack's mouth shrunk a bit as he felt his cheeks heat up.

"Gimme your phone," he told her. Miko handed it to him and he flipped it open. All at once he could see what he'd hit. In front of him was a metal plate that the cable slithered under. They'd reached the end! "Back up a bit," he warned. After about four or five loud impacts against the metal, Jack finally kicked the panel open allowing them to crawl out. Delighted to be free, Miko stretched and started looking around the room.

"This place is a mess!" she stated. And it was. All around them lay wires and cords connecting into various computers and other equipment. Jack wasn't even sure if he could see the floor with how cluttered it was. But they'd reached it.

"Raf," he said into the cell-phone.

"GUYS! What happened? Are you-"

"We need you to help get some doors open, think you can do that?"

"Uh...yeah...I think I got a program...just plug the phone into any compatible outlet and I'll get on it!" Jack nodded and started looking for any indentation in the machinery. Miko meanwhile had taken to strolling around the chamber. Even though she had no idea what any of the crap was, such an accumulation fascinated her none-the-less. She stopped at one of the computers and viewed the screen.

"Alien Disc..." she read the title of the image, "...uhuh..." Seeing that Jack still was going about his business, Miko wandered around some more eventually halting next to a door. This one didn't look at all like the other door that she'd tried to bust open earlier. No, on this there was another emblem. An orange one in the shape of a head with two horns coming off of it. Below it was scribbled something. Miko rubbed her hand over the plating to wipe some of the dust away and get a better look. "Do not disturb...that means you Sideways..." she murmured.

"Alright! The doors there should be open!...hey, any idea why I haven't been able to get the ground bridge to work for the bots?" Raf's voice said.

"If I had any idea about this place I'd let you know," Jack grumbled.

"Can I have my phone back?" Miko asked causing Jack to jump from her sudden appearance at his side. Once he'd regained his composure he jerked the phone out of the and handed it over. Smiling the girl snatched it back and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Too caught up in the interactions, neither teenager seemed to notice the door that Miko had been inspecting slide open or the robotic foot that stepped out.

"Ugh..." it grumbled rubbing its visor, "Is stasis-lock over all...who the hell..." Baffled by the appearance of the people in its chamber, the near-human-sized Transformer walked over to them. Jack was in the middle of getting his coloring back to normal when he noticed the shadow looming over them. "And just who might you be?" the annoyed voice muttered. Miko and Jack spun around. Standing before them was the shortest Transformer they'd ever seen. But they recognized it. It was the one who's head had been in the monitors! Its coloring was purple and black with quite a few appendages sprouting out of its back.

"Wh-wha...what are you!" Jack stammered. The living machine looked the two over carefully.

"Well, if you haven't met them already I'm called a transformer," he chuckled. Even quicker than the Autobots, his bodyparts flipped around morphing him into a robotic eight-legged arachnid. "Hence the-"

"S-s-sp-sp-SPIDER!" Miko screamed effectively silencing the giant bug. Not able to fully get over the shock of the female's vocal cords, the creature could only watch as she produced an ax from behind her back and brought it down on him...again...and again...

"YOW! GAH! OOK! BFPH! OW!" were just some of the sounds that Jack could make out from the unfortunate Transformer. After about the seventh or eighth hit he finally morphed back into robot-mode and grabbed the ax. "Alright you little bitch, knock it off!" he yelled throwing her into a nearby computer. With her body twitching from the impact, the Transformer began to approach her when something else hit him, this time in the head. Irritably he turned around to see the boy with a fire extinguisher in his hands.

"Stay away from her," he muttered.

"...where did you even get that-YAH!" Being in robot-mode it was a lot easier for the opponent to dodge and get the upper hand, but the few blows that boy got in certainly weren't appreciated. Furiously one of its claws grabbed the fire extinguisher and snapped it in half, its smokey contents evaporating into the air in front of him. "Now then...oh for Unicron's sake..." the purple mechanoid grumbled rubbing his optics. He hadn't taken into account that his vision would've gotten fogged from the broken device. By the time he'd gotten his sight back, the boy and girl were already rushing out the door and down the hall.

"Oh I think not..." he murmured. Quickly he morphed into his spider-form and pulled up his legs revealing a pair of wheels that rocketed after the intruders. Miko and Jack didn't dare look back. Whatever they were hearing coming after them certainly couldn't be a good thing. All they could do was keep hold of each other's hands and keep running. But their predator was gaining. Fast.

"Miko...shut your eyes..." Jack told her. The girl looked up at him. Regret in his eyes, he peered back.

"GUYS!" Bulkhead exclaimed. All of a sudden they found themselves toppling through the open door of the green vehicle. "Hang on!" he ordered shutting it. Miko and Jack felt rather uncomfortable with how close fallen into each other. "Raf! I got em! Open the Ground Bridge at my co-ordinates!"

"...you did good," Jack's quiet voice told her. Miko smiled toothily back and hugged him tight. The spidery Transformer rounded the corner just in time to see the vehicle disappearing into the vanishing corridor of light.

"Why those little..." he grumbled morphing back into robot-mode. Figuring there was nothing more he could do, he turned to walk back to the control room. Instead he was greeted by a wave of acid flooding towards him.

"...well fuck."

-end of chapter-

Long time Transformers watchers should have gotten the gist of who all was that spider-bot in this chapter. A bit of a different one with Miko and Jack actually taking part an adventure this time. Hope it turned out alright. Got a bit too slow with them standing outside the door there for my tastes. But oh well.

Miko is ever persistent!

warahi(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Gotta-Win-The-Day-304022614


	7. Lifting Masks

Chapter 7: Lifting Masks

Rafael Esquivel was sitting out on the front steps of the school. In seconds he knew that Miko would ride up and hop out of Bulkhead like a kid on a sugar high. It was Friday. The final day of the week. Which meant just one huge buildup to the weekend. And all that meant was hell for the school staff. All the kids busying about their social lives and getting ready to live it up however they could in their time off. Miko though was a special case. With her it was just a constant chore for a teacher to keep her attention span for more than a nanosecond. Heaven knew what chaos she'd bring with her this time.

As predicted, the green car swerved up to the front of the school, and to Raf's amazement the girl that emerged wasn't launching herself like a cannonball through the door. No...this Miko...wasn't even excited... She got out calmer than Raf had ever seen her before, head down and hands in her pockets. It was almost like...a complete stranger. She would've walked straight past Raf had he not done anything.

"Uh...Miko?" he said. Snapping out of her mental world, Miko looked down and gave a half-hearted wave to him. A look of concern washed over the younger boy. "...is something wrong?..." Not even asking, Miko sat down next to him and let out a sigh. Slowly she ran her hands over her face.

"Yeah..." she muttered, "I've been...thinking...all morning..."

"Wow, the rumors are true," Raf chuckled, "You do have something inside that head of yours." Miko's expression didn't change. "Hey, I didn't mean uh...well...what've you been thinking about?..."

"I love Jack." Raf nearly fell over from the response. Miko sucked in some air and blew it out of her nose. It was all she could do to really keep her cool.

"Excuse me?" Raf hacked as he propped himself back up, "I mean yeah, it's obvious but...gimme some warning or somethin' before you just blurt that out!...so uh...why're you down then?..." Miko closed her eyes.

"I SHOULDN'T love him..." she grumbled. Raf rolled his eyes. Here it came. "We're friends...best friends...and well...we aren't supposed to like each other like that..."

"But you do," Raf stated.

"But we shouldn't!" Miko insisted pounding her fist on the ground, "I mean...what if...what if it doesn't work out!"

"Then it doesn't work out," Raf sighed, "Doesn't mean you'd have to stop being friends. Honestly Miko, I wouldn't expect you, of ANY of the team, to fret over this crap. You just go in guns blazing all the time. So what's the problem now?" Miko looked at the ground and bit her lip.

"...cause I...love him...I LOVE him...I FUCKING LOVE HIM!" Miko growled grabbing Raf by the arms and shaking him about. Again he fell backwards once he was released. The boy readjusted his glasses upon propping himself back to a sitting position. To him the answer was simple...then again a lot of things were that just soared over his friends' heads.

"Then go for him," Raf told her. Miko's eyes went wide.

"Are you insane?" she asked, "And possibly ruin everything? Hell no! And besides! It's the guy that's supposed to make the first move!" Raf pinched the space between his eyes and stood up. What he was about to do might go horribly wrong. But...it would be fun at least. Miko just watched in shock as he brought his hand back and slapped her cheek.

"GET A GRIP!" he yelled grabbing her shoulders, "You are Miko Nakadai! You don't give a crap what goes wrong! What matters is that you do it! Now if I'm not mistaken you've been going on about Friday movie night while Jack's mom is away for the weekend all week! You are going to do it and you are going to do it right! You got that!" Looking into her eyes, Raf could've sworn he saw something flicker beneath their glassy surface.

"You know what?...you're right!" she agreed standing up herself, "I am going to go over to his house!" "Yes!" "Watch a movie!" "Yes!" "And sleep in his bed tonight!" "Ye-wait, what!" "Oh thank you Raf, you are the best!" If the boy had wanted to say anything, all words were lost as Miko embraced him in a spine-crushing hug and gave him a kiss right on the lips. He was left stunned as she bounded off into the school. With a twitch of his eye he regained control of his senses.

"...well...went better than it could've..."

* * *

"Well Lord Megatron, it may not exactly be a cure...but we do have something to suppress the um...urges..." Knockout gulped. He could hardly stand looking at the Decepticon leader in the rasping state he was now in. Every few hours he'd collapse onto his resting panel exhausted from simply giving orders. The infection was certainly taking its toll. But if Knockout's calculations were correct, which he had no mind to doubt that they were, his findings should get Megatron back on his feet enough to keep him active...for a while at least.

"Give it to me..." Megatron panted. Knockout nodded and began fiddling around with his surgical equipment.

"Now this procedure would be best if you were put under tranquilization of some sor-" Knockout's voice squeezed shut from the hand that wrapped around his throat. Within seconds he was pulled right up next to his leader's face.

"Give it to me!" he hissed, "NOW!"

"Y-yes sir!" Knockout shakily replied. Nervously he returned to his equipment and began hooking components together. All the while Megatron shook on the table, his every nerve shot from the writhing torment that seeped through him. The dreams had only gotten worse and worse, the influence ever intoxicating him to his demise. For any other Decepticon they'd gladly have welcomed death. But he was their leader. And as such he had a duty not just to them, but to himself. To succumb to such a feeble end would be a great dishonor for a Gladiator.

"Now...this will hurt..." Knockout told him.

"You say that as if I'm not used to pain," Megatron muttered. Shaking his head, Knockout lifted the device and slammed it into the tall Decepticon's chest-plating, the end piercing straight into his Spark.

* * *

Lost in thought, the girl doodled along a page in her notebook. "Miss Nakadai!" the teacher said. With a yawn she looked up.

"Hai?..." she mumbled. Miko scowled at being brought back into the reality of boredom. Fortunately her fun was not all gone. Looking down she etched a few more lines into the picture. She hadn't realized what exactly she'd been doodling while her mind had been off in the clouds, but now she noticed full well what it was. Jack.

"I said what is the square root of-" BRRRRINNGGGGG! The classroom was emptied in no time leaving the teacher inside thanking the lord that it would soon be the weekend. A small vacation away from the little monsters. Miko looked forward to it for quite different reasons of course. Giddily she hopped through the hallways. As with every day, kids were toiling through their lockers and talking amongst each other. Only today it was tenfold. The end of the week brought such joy the normally abysmal foundation of learning. And the joy only increased upon rounding the next corner. Taking a sip from the fountain next to his locker was Jack. Miko quickened her pace.

Needless to say, when he looked up Jack was a bit surprised with how she'd somehow teleported to him. But she seemed to be doing that more and more these days, especially at school.

"Uh, hey Miko," he smiled to her as he stood up, "Sorry, no Sierra here today for you to mess with."

"Oh I'm not too worried about her right now," she smiled back, her eyelids half shut. Jack lifted a brow. "We still on for tonight?"

"Oh yeah," he chuckled, "You said you wanted to see Jurassic Park 3?"

"Yep, only seen the first," she nodded, "And your mom..."

"Is at work all weekend," Jack confirmed, "and the next too. So long movie night and day if you want this time."

"That's just perfect," Miko grinned. Jack eyed the shorter girl suspiciously.

"What are you up to?..." he muttered. Her grin widened.

"Oh nothing," she cooed running her fingers along the underside of his chin. The touch sent a shiver through Jack's body. "Just really looking forward to it tonight," she told him with a wink. Jack rubbed the spot that she'd stroked while his eyes narrowed a bit.

"No," he said, "You're up to something. So what is it? A prank? Some big messy snack?...get Ratchet to make you a transforming dinosaur for the setting?..." Shaking her head, Miko propped herself up to Jack's level and rubbed her cheek up against his.

"You'll see," she whispered into his ear. Quite a bit stiff from her actions, Jack shook the tenseness of the moment off and peered down at Miko. She was just as happy as ever. No...much more happy than usual actually. There was something about her that just lit up the air around them with joy and happiness. It wasn't a fragrance so much as an atmosphere. No perfume or anything. It was completely natural. Maybe on some primal level Jack understood, but his mind refused to wrap itself around any notion spawned from it.

"It'll be a night we'll never forget. Promise," Miko told him gently. Jack's curiosity was nearly bursting out of his mind with how much the girl was drowning him in the mystique and emotions. In order to retain control of his functions he took a deep breath and exhaled. Smiling, he ruffled the shorter girl's hair.

"Whatever you say silly."

* * *

"Alright, why the bloody Pit didn't you tell me that, oh I don't know, the Earth had been paved over our master this time and humans had come to be here?" the mangled spider yelled as it lowered itself down into the purple-lit cavern. What had once been a sleek complete arachnid body was now missing quite a few of the legs and various spots on it were blackened or missing all-together. After it'd made it out of the acid-filled laboratory that it had once called home, the creature had managed find a way even further into the planet. One that it had prepared beforehand to the core.

"Well, you did say that you didn't want me to wake you up didn't you Tarantulas?" a sly voice chuckled. The spider grumbled something unintelligent and painfully morphed into his robot-mode.

"Yes, but still, knowing that those that ALWAYS aide in the end of that stupid Cybertronian War distraction have surfaced would be nice," Tarantulas spat, "ESPECIALLY when they're living on the damn body of our leader!"

"Eh, cool your pistons brainiac," the much taller purple and yellow Transformer shot back, "Wouldn't really make a slag of difference. The bots and cons already know ol' metal mustache is real here anyhow by this point."

"WHAT?" Tarantulas cried grabbing the sides of his head, "What about the whole element of surprise thing! Strike while they're in the midst of squabbling amongst their own race! Oh I should have set the my alarm to wake me up sooner! Why if I were awake when-"

"You'd have done crap," the other Transformer shrugged, "but don't sweat it. From what I've been sensing Unicron is far from done yet. Just like always his brother just doesn't have the nerve to end him for good." Tarantulas eyed the taller follower suspiciously.

"Someone has his influence then..." he asked. The Transformer nodded.

"Precisely. And once they get influenced enough..."

"Then you have your fun," Tarantulas scoffed, "but really Sideways, next time wake me up when crap's going down."

"Who am I to interrupt one that needs such beauty sleep?" he chuckled. Tarantulas' eye twitched.

* * *

"Jack!" Raf called after the boy. It'd been hell getting out of school that day. The crowd that had exited could've rivaled Unicron himself in the position of Chaos Bringer. Somehow the young student had managed to survive, albeit with torn clothing and patches of dust all over him. It hadn't mattered when he tried to leave. There were kids continually streaming out.

"Hey Raf," Jack waved. Panting, the shorter male came to a stop in front of him.

"I have...been trying...to get to you...all day..." Raf gasped, "Look...Miko...I talked to her and I wanted to talk to you...a bit before you left too...if that's...okay..." Jack knelt down in front of him to get a better look. The boy sure seemed to have run himself ragged.

"Well sure, anytime you wanna-"

"HELLO!" Miko suddenly cried tackling Jack. Tightly she wrapped one arm around his throat while the other slithered around his body. His skin trembled a bit from the friction on his tummy. Knowing he'd only have seconds, Raf tried to get the attention back on him.

"Hey, Raf, do you think we could talk later? Miko really seems eager to-"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you abo-"

"Thanks, see ya!" Jack waved as he was dragged off into a green car by the joyful girl. Raf stood watching the vehicle until it drove off.

"...I take no responsibility for their well-being..." the boy genius mumbled to himself. Perhaps if Jack had taken the time to listen to what the youngest member of the team had had to say things would have been different. But as things stood, there he was in Bulkhead with Miko clinging to his arm. His brows bent sympathetically with how giddy the girl was. Every few seconds it seemed, she'd rub her cheek against his arm or show some other form of physical interaction.

"I got Pockys again..." she sang dangling a box of the chocolate-covered Asian snacks in front of Jack's face, "If you want any I'm sure I can spare a few." Jack rubbed the back of his head bashfully. Though he hated to admit it, once he had had one of those sticks the last time, it'd been pretty hard to stop munching on them. Miko had even had to yank them away so that there'd be some left for her.

Delicately she bent her head down to the lid of the box and grabbed the end of one of the the sticks by her teeth before sliding it out and tilting her head towards Jack. Jack lifted his brow curiously causing her to bob her head a few times signaling for him to take it. A light blush crept over him. Nervously he grabbed the end of it and snapped the part that wasn't in Miko's mouth off. Miko grinned and munched on the remains of her end while Jack started nibbling cautiously on his.

After repeating the gesture two or three more times, Jack started actually enjoying the goofy little ritual Miko was performing with the Pockys. By now he was getting to the point where when he broke one off there weren't even crumbs spraying out of the snaps he'd make. Bulkhead was rather pleased with how quiet it was compared to normal. Sure he loved jammin' with Miko and everything, but every now and then even he needed a break from her usual antics. For once, without a fuss being made or stereos booming, the car pulled into the driveway. Pockys in their mouths, Jack and Miko hopped out of the car and headed inside.

"You need anything from the kitchen?" Jack asked making his way to the fridge.

"Nah, I'm good for now," Miko replied walking past the room. As he dug around for something to drink, Jack's mind took the opportunity to start thinking. Just what was it that Miko was up to? She had been awfully strange and nice all day. There had to be a catch somewhere... With a shrug, Jack got up having picked out a can of Root Beer, and kicked the door shut. If something happened then something happened. No way he could predict it. Strolling into his room Jack didn't notice anything really off. Miko was lying there curled up under the covers with the box of Pockys on her tummy and a DVD case next to her.

"You sure you want this one?" Jack asked looking the Jurassic Park 3 cover over. Miko nodded. Sighing, Jack popped the DVD into the player and took his seat next to Miko after being sure to flick off the lights. As the screen began to glow, Miko lifted up the covers for him to join her. Taking the offer, Jack slipped in and soon enough Miko was wrapped around his arm, her head resting on his chest.

* * *

For the first time in ages Megatron felt relieved. Sure it wasn't back to how good he used to be, but it would do for now. Comfortingly he patted his chest-plating. Knockout really did know how to buff a body so that any sign of scarring from the operation was gone.

"Now remember, this isn't a cure. It's just a...suppressant I whipped together from what I managed to find at the lab," Knockout warned. Megatron tapped his chest a few times and grinned.

"Seems good enough to me," he quipped. Knockout shook his head and sighed. They were lucky they had him or else certain cons would have been dead quite a number of times over with how little they actually understood the important and values of their health. Even if he did like dismantling more than fixing, it was still his job.

"Well in the meantime I'll still keep looking for an actual permanent way to patch you up," he told his leader. With a renewed sense of strength, Megatron stood up and stretched. He didn't care what the doctor thought. He was back in action.

* * *

"That...was...stupid..." Miko Nakadai stated dryly. The credits had finished rolling. That's how long it seemed to take for everything to sink into the viewer's head. "I mean...the raptors could fucking talk to each other?...now I'm no Raf, but that's just plain retarded! And those people always shouting "That's a very bad idea!"? What the fuck were they thinking when going to an island of dinosaurs! I mean it's just...GYUH! The second one can not be as disappointing as that!...can it?..." It took Jack a while to stop laughing at the girl's overreaction.

"Well, it's certainly nothing compared to the first movie but I wouldn't call it as bad as this one...you'd have to see it for yourself to decide. And since my mom's away, how's about a double-feature?" Jack was about to get up to put in the other DVD when he was pulled back into Miko's embrace.

"My...two movies for one girl? You really are trying to impress me aren't you Darby?" she giggled nuzzling her cheek against his. She could feel his warming up quite a bit. "And you haven't even tried anynormal moves like yawning to put your arm around my shoulder or any of that crap. You're quite the sly one aren't you?..." Jack was pretty sure his face was beet red. He'd never heard her talking like that before. Hesitantly he tried to peel her off his arm to resume his trek to the DVD player. He wished he hadn't. All the action had done was provoked Miko to grab his other hand and press him down on the bed beneath her. Jack knew that somehow his face was getting redder as her hips straddled on top of his.

"Uh...M-Miko...don't you wanna see the movie?..." Jack gulped. He knew it was a futile suggestion. Her half-shut eyes were set greedily on his.

"Oh I want something..." she smiled. Jack gasped quietly as her legs squeezed around him. "And seems like you do too..." her voice slurred accompanying the light blush that glistened beneath her skin. Jack wanted to fight back...but deep down knew that really he did not desire to at all. Spotting the confirmation behind his eyes, Miko layed down on him and pressed her lips against his. For the first moment Jack was just frozen in a mixture of wonder and shock. Then instincts kicked in and he returned the gesture pressing a hand against the back of Miko's head while the other wrapped around her waist encourage the pressure against their lower bodies.

Then they tried something new. Curious as to whether he'd react, Miko opened her lips a bit. And Jack did. Hungrily his tongue lapped into her mouth where her's swirled about against his. It was an entirely new pleasuring sensation. Their breaths joined, the sweetness of the Pockys colliding with the natural flavor of their mouths. It seemed like an eternity that their tongues wrestled before Jack finally broke off gasping for breath.

"Wow..." Miko blinked a few times.

"What are we doing!" Jack exclaimed grabbing the sides of his head. Miko puffed some air out of her nose. She knew this would probably happen.

"Well, we were having fun," she grinned. Jack shot her a glare causing her to shrink back some.

"No shit. But we aren't supposed to be doing this!" he reminded, "We're supposed to be friends...not...this...this is what caused all our problems to begin with!"

"Well you can't say you don't like it," Miko stated. The blush returned full force to Jack's cheeks as he felt her rub her lower body against his emitting a hiss of air from her lips. "Besides, if it doesn't work out we can just go back to being how we were being..." she more hoped than anything else. Jack closed his eyes and furrowed his brows.

"And you're forgetting one very important thing..." he muttered, "I like Sierra." To his surprise the interaction from the girl stopped with that sentence. Opening his eyes back up he was greeted with a rather surprising sight. Miko was still sitting on him, but her bravado and confidence had completely left her face. Her vision was downcast. Jack felt a lump of regret forming in his throat. "Miko...you know I like her..."

"And...you don't like me?..." she asked quietly. Jack bit his lip. Those kind of questions were rigged. "So...all the hugging...and kissing ever since we made up...you can't say that was all just us being friends..." Jack tried not to think about the memories.

"I thought you were just playing around in Bulkhead the other day..." he told her, "And...uh..."

"But you liked it...I know you did. And I did. It's more than just being friends Jack...I...I do love you. I LOVE you." Jack's mouth shrunk a bit. He'd never thought she'd be mature enough to actually make such a statement...about anyone, much less him. The boy that she loved to annoy to no end...which in light of recent events he actually did enjoy. "So if you really want to be with Sierra, I will support you, honest. But...just...I love you. I've tried ever since we met to get you to come out of your shell and crap and to impress you on missions and...all that...and...and..." Jack could feel her shaking now.

His usual sense of responsibility and understanding overtaking him, the boy wrapped his arms around her and brought her to lay down flat against him. Softly he nuzzled his face into her hair.

"...I know..." he sighed in defeat. Curious as to what he meant, Miko turned her head up, an eye peaking out from between her face and Jack's shirt. After another sigh, Jack closed his eyes. "Really I...love you too Miko...it's just that well...I didn't want to love you was the thing...thought it'd-"

"Mess up the friendship," she finished. Jack glanced down at her again and kissed her head.

"You sure we should be doing this?" he asked. Miko turned her face fully to his, a smile reappearing on it.

"Do I ever do things I should?" she asked wiggling her eyebrows. Jack lifted his and grinned.

"Not unless I'm around," he replied. In full agreement and understanding, the two teenagers pressed their lips back together.

-end of chapter-

And thus they are together. Go wild I guess. Aside from that we see more behind the scenes stuff going on now that Tarantulas has been introduced. Now I know I've been updating like every other day, but that might change soon as I do have other stuff I do than just this. So yeah, I'll still be doing it, but can't promise I'll update as much. Either way, hope you enjoyed.

Picture time: warahi(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Dropping-The-Act-304370181


	8. Taking It To The Next Level

Chapter 8: Taking It To The Next Stage

"Yeah Raf, we're doing fine," Miko yawned into her phone, "Just getting out of the theatre now...wait is there an emergency? Are we gonna save the world!...aw...alright well see you later then..." With a pout Miko closed the cell phone and put it back in her pocket.

"What? Bulkhead dead or something?" Jack mused. Miko put her middle finger up to him before placing it, along with the rest of her hand, on her hip.

"Nope, just checking up on us...no adventures starting at the base...," she grumbled. Jack smiled and ruffled her hair.

"If memory serves, we'll probably have enough tonight to keep us preoccupied anyhow," he reminded. Miko grinned up at him. It'd been a week since they'd started their little relationship. As of now they'd gone on three actual dates, every one ending pretty nicely in their minds. That wasn't to say that anyone outside of their group really knew much about it. The kids at school were so used to seeing them together that they simply saw them as being whatever they'd always been since they'd known each other pretty much. As for Jack's mom, whatever she thought was her own ideas to know. At times she played up how cute they looked together (despite Miko's annoying tendencies), and other times treated Miko as she'd treat Raf. Not much had changed.

Within the group however was another story. Raf was just relieved to finally have all the tension between them worked out. Bumblebee and Bulkhead had been a bit confused. Of course they'd seen human couples before, but never had they actually experienced one. It was one thing to watch people in movies kiss and such, but it was an entirely different matter to watch one's partner do so. Jack and Miko hadn't really tried to show off their affection towards each other, but it didn't take much for the rest of the team to put two and two together. Arcee had given Jack quite the earful on the way home the next chance she got.

But overall they were happy. Now that all the complications were out of the way they were free to interact with each other however they wanted. Each argument they'd get into seemed to end with one of them on the ground beneath the other while their lips did the fighting. When they were playing games they'd usually be nuzzling or cuddling each other at the same time or to comfort the loser afterwards. It was everything they'd wanted to do when they were pretending to be just friends. In retrospect that entire time period had been torture by comparison. Both of their minds urging them to go the full mile but neither having the nerve to do so. But now that they were together it was ecstasy every day.

"So when we get back home you wanna see another movie?" Jack offered. Miko smirked at him.

"Won't really make a difference. Not like we'll be listening much," she replied seductively. The two shared a smile. A bit sleepily Miko rested her head on Jack's shoulder and rubbed into the arch of his neck sending goosebumps along his skin. "Hey...it's the weekend again isn't it?...your mom's away for all of it still right?..." Jack looked down at the Asian girl receiving a more suggestive look. He gave one back and came to a stop.

Jack was the first to get on the blue motorcycle. Before long they were speeding along the desolate nighttime streets of Jasper. Seeing that no one was really around, the motorcycle decided to pop a wheelie.

"WOO! Arcee you kick ass!" Miko screamed chancing one arm off of Jack to cheer her on.

"I know." the vehicle accepted the compliment. There wasn't really much time to shoot any comment back to her. In seconds they'd pulled into Jack's driveway and slid into the garage. It sure seemed like quite the small town at times.

"Hey...I just thought of something, what do your host-parents think when you-"

"I tell em I'm spending the night at a friend's," Miko answered as she got off, "Which I am doing..." Jack slid his eyes to the top of his head as if to look at the thoughts that sentence sent through his mind.

"Don't make too much noise," Arcee muttered as she powered down for the night. Jack nodded and followed Miko into the house. Exhausted from the time out they'd spent, Miko emptied out her heavy pockets onto the couch in the living room while Jack went to the kitchen to scrummage around for something. With a yawn the girl stretched and made her way to the boy's room.

"Oh Miko," he said walking over to his doorway, "Did you...want...any...um..." Jack blinked a few times afterwhich he just stood staring into the room until an arm pulled him in and locked the door.

* * *

"Lord Megatron, are you sure you should be leading this mission?" Knockout questioned. One glare from the commander was all he needed to back away.

"Why shouldn't I be?..." he growled. Knockout shook his hands in front of him defensively and gave a weak smile.

"N-no reason," he laughed nervously, "It's just...well you know how I told you that you just have a suppressant right?..." Megatron's brow lifted a bit.

"Yes...it's been working fine. You're work is good enough doctor," the silver Decepticon told him. Knockout slapped his forehead. Megatron may have been their leader, but even he should realize that no one was truly okay until their medic said so.

"Yes, it's FINE for NOW," Knockout emphasized, "But you can't just go off and do whatever you want. It might irritate the process and get the infection worked up again! And if you go off the deep end what's to stop your infected self from tearing up the ship and endangering every one else! I mean come on! Protoforms have more sense than-urk!" The red Decepticon felt his feet lift off the ground in the grip of his master.

"It would be wise to keep such thoughts to yourself," Megatron hissed, "You may keep working on a permanent cure, but as long as I function I will lead. Got that?" More afraid for his well-being than his leader's for the moment, Knockout nodded back. Carelessly, Megatron tossed the smaller Transformer to the ground and continued on his way to the bridge. With the new Energon mines he had his sights set on, the troops would have all day to bring back the life-sustaining material. Silently a stream of purple trickled through his optics. That meant quite the amount of time to have fun with Optimus if he showed up.

* * *

"Mmm...Miko..." Jack moaned quietly burying his face into the soft material beneath him. It took him a few kisses before he realized that the item wasn't responding. Once he opened his sleepy eyes he saw why that was. He'd been attempting to make out with a pillow.

"So, I leave to get something to drink and you start cheating on me already?" the Asian girl giggled. Jack looked at the door and blushed. It was partly from the embarrassment of being caught in such an act. But the other part was due to the female herself. There slouched on the frame was Miko in nothing but her panties with a can of cream soda hanging loosely in her hand. After a yawn she took a sip and burped.

"'Scuse you," Jack murmured.

"Thanks," she replied as she strolled over to the bed and plopped down next to him. Remembering how much of a fit Jack's mom had had over seeing a can spilled on the ground before, Miko decided to put her's on the nightstand next to the bed. Jack fully welcomed the snuggling embrace that came once she'd dug in under the covers.

"...you didn't put on deodorant yesterday did you?" he asked with a sniff.

"Nope," Miko said happily. Knowing that chastising the girl would do nothing, Jack just continued nuzzling his body and face against her's, her natural scent flooding his nostrils. A feeling that he loved so much. And by how she returned the affection he could only assume she felt the same towards him.

"Sleep well?" he asked between the rubbing of their cheeks.

"What do you think?" she whisped back. Jack smiled while she gave him a wink. "I'm pretty sure this is routine enough by now that you'd know..."

"Which means you're probably gonna fuck it up somehow," Jack laughed lightly. Pulling back, Miko gave him an inquisitive look. "Well I was just sayin' since you never like to go by the rules or anything you'll probably change things up a bit. Maybe even drop me entirely so that I can go for Sierra-" His voice was silenced by a hand clamping over his mouth.

"You're gonna be the one ruining things," Miko told him. Jack responded with a silent grin. Miko returned the playful look, "And if you do you're dead."

"Oh like you could beat me," Jack laughed. Miko puffed her cheeks out as she layed down on her stomach.

"I so could!" she growled .

"Says the numerous times you've lost to me in that racing game back at base," Jack smirked. Miko's only retort was to stick her tongue out at him. "Speaking of which, does that game have a name?..." Miko's eyes widened and she burst out laughing on Jack's chest. "...what?..."

"N-nothing," she gasped, "That's just...how me and Raf wondering what Sierra's friend's name was started." Finding it a bit humorous himself, Jack joined in the merriment and patted Miko's head lightly. She sure was fun to be around when they weren't at each others' throats.

"But seriously," he continued, "name? Can't be anything too complicated." Miko rubbed her chin on his chest a few times in thought.

"Generic Racing Game?" she suggested.

"Generic Racing Game," he nodded. The agreed faces lasted for maybe three seconds before the laughter resumed. Once the noise finally died down, Miko propped herself up to Jack's eye level and pressed her lips against his snapping his eyes to their widest level. Sure he normally enjoyed the action, but it'd come out of nowhere. It didn't take long fore the vision-sensing body parts to close though giving way to focus mainly on the enjoyable touching aspect. The licking of their tongues while their hands ventured across their bodies, squeezing and stroking.

"Eep!" Miko squeaked breaking the kiss upon feeling the unusually strong pressure against her butt. Jack stared at her a few seconds before squeezing again. "EEP!" Miko's voice went higher. Blushing, she pulled his hand away.

"Stop that!" she whined. Jack gave her a toothy grin as his arm lifted again. But he wasn't quick enough. Speedily, the girl dove down onto his chest, thrust her hand down between their bodies, and squeezed. Jack's face became redder than Miko had ever seen it before. Mischievously, the girl smiled up at him and squeezed harder.

"Alright alright, I'll stop!" he gasped. Feeling the revenge to be complete, Miko retracted her limb and kissed Jack's flushing cheek.

"Good boy," she giggled nuzzling into his neck, "Payback is always so nice...eep!"

"Indeed it is," Jack replied pleasantly while his hand slid upwards. Miko scowled at him to which he just kissed her forehead. "Hey, my house. Be happy I even let you talk me into this originally. Though that kiss just now was a bit eh. Cream Soda's not really the taste I try waking up to."

"Like your breath is any better when you wake up," Miko quipped back, "Still, do like the feeling...but since you're so concerned about hygiene, I guess I can go shower up..." After giving Jack another kiss, the girl hopped out of the bed and walked into the hall. A few seconds later her head reappeared in the doorway. "...you coming?" A smile on his face, Jack exited the bedroom too and joined her.

* * *

"Hey Ratchet," Raf waved to the medic as he exited the yellow car. Energetically, the vehicle flipped into robot-mode and did a few spins emitting some claps from his partner.

"Raf, I'm sorry but I don't really have time," Ratchet replied not looking up from his console, "Prime, what's the situation exactly?" Raf and Bumblebee gave each other worried looks. Without needing to say anything, the yellow guardian scooped up his human charge and walked over to where Ratchet was talking.

"Not too great," the bold voice of the Autobot leader replied through the computer, "Though it shames me to say so, the Decepticons have us vastly outnumbered and Megatron is with them. We should have waited until Arcee was available. Therefore it stands to reason that we can not win this fight. We'll need a Ground Bridge."

"Affirmative," the red and white Autobot confirmed. With a few taps of the keyboard the light of the portal appeared at the nearby wall. A shaky Bulkhead was the first to wobble through, his body charred with numerous burn marks from his combatants. Immediately Ratchet and Bumblebee had rushed over to him to help him to a medical bed. The next to come through was Optimus Prime, damaged but still walking in unbreaking strides. Then the final Transformer came through. Raf nearly fell off of Ratchet's console as the hulking Megatron tore into the base. Optimus had no time to react before his old ally tackled him into the stairs of the area which the humans used for lounging.

"RATCHET!" Raf yelled. The medic's jaw dropped at the sight of the intruder.

"Is that Megatron!" Bulkhead coughed from the recovery room.

"Stay down!" the doctor ordered, "I got another patient to take care of!" Flipping his surgical tools out, Ratchet charged at the former Gladiator only to be knocked aside with a swipe of his massive arm.

"It's not like a Prime to run from a fight..." a dark voice chuckled through Megatron's mouth to the Autobot he had pinned under him. Optimus strained and grunted but it was no use. The Decepticon leader was too massive. In no time his forces would be making their way into the base!

"We need to shut down the Ground Bridge!" Optimus barked to Ratchet.

"With him in here?" Ratchet yelped pointing at the silver abomination. His eyes were glowing an intoxicating shade of purple.

"Leave him to me!" Optimus yelled back. Just as Megatron brought his blade down, Optimus yanked his head to the side and used to the stuck appendage as leverage to flip the rest of the body over. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ratchet tearing away at the keyboard. Shifting his view to the other side he could just vaguely make out the shapes of the Vehicons that Megatron had been leading.

"Whether you take care of me or not, you lose this time Prime," Megatron's normal voice cackled.

"Not today!" Optimus argued. The first Vehicon had set foot inside the base and the Bridge was beginning to close. Seeing no other option, Optimus Prime morphed into vehicle-mode, his parts wrapping around Megatron just enough to keep him locked onto the end of the truck, but not enough to interfere with his actual movements. The Vehicons had no way of predicting that the truck would come hurtling at them with their leader and knock them all back to the other side of the portal with it.

"Optimus!" Raf cried as the portal disappeared. Ratchet's jaw hung.

"...Arcee...get to base...now..." Ratchet ordered into his com-link.

* * *

"YAH!" Jack cried. The boy shot a glare at the girl while he rubbed his butt. Miko wiggled her eyebrows and started to whip the towel at him again. This time however Jack caught the piece of cloth. The game of tug-o-war for it didn't last all that long. Almost instantly Miko lost her balance from the unexpected counter and was pulled into Jack's arms. Smiling, he placed a kiss on her lips which she was more than happy to return. Their little "quality-time" would've probably gone on longer had a honk not interrupted it. Curiously, the pair ventured to the garage door and peered in. Within it was crouched Arcee in robot-mode.

"I was about to yell for you two," she grumbled, "We need to be at base. Now...and uh...get dressed." Miko and Jack looked down at each other in realization and blushed. With innocent smiles they vanished back into the house leaving the Cybertronian to morph back into a motorcycle. A few minutes later they were on the road to the base, the wind brushing viciously past them. Arcee thought she heard the girl riding her yell something about the cold, but she just pressed onward. It wasn't until they were safely inside the old military facility that either of the humans could really be heard.

"Hey guys!" Raf greeted, "How're-"

"MY NIPPLES ARE FREEZING!" Miko hollered as she rubbed her chest and hopped around crazily. Raf glanced at Jack who looked away in embarrassment. "RAF!" Miko exclaimed grabbing him by the arms, "Never take a shower and speed through town afterwards! NEVER!" Raf just stared into her wide eyes and nodded slowly. Jack's attention meanwhile was elsewhere. While Miko continued to lecture the youngest member about the importance of high-speeds on water-drenched bodies, Arcee was busy receiving orders from Ratchet.

"So get Bee and Prime and get back. Got it," she nodded. She bent down to charge into the portal but when it opened she found there was no reason to. Supporting each other in the trek through the shimmering corridor was their leader and their scout. With a huff, Bumblebee collapsed. Immediately the medic rushed over to the two battle-worn Autobots after shutting down the Ground Bridge.

"Are you two-"

"We're fine," Optimus Prime put up a hand of reassurance, "Just...the odds were...severe. We survived though. I am glad that no one else had to participate." Normally Arcee might be a bit miffed that she'd missed the action, but seeing the shape that their leader was in she pocketed all desire for such a notion. Indeed it sent a wave of discomfort through the group. But still...they were alive. That's what mattered.

"What happened?" Jack asked approaching Optimus Prime. The red and blue Autobot's expression became downcast.

"I...do not know..." he told the human, "It seemed to be a simple mission that the Decepticons were carrying on at first. But when Megatron spotted me it all got...chaotic. He gave orders that completely contradicted previous ones. His troops half of the time had no idea what to do with what he was saying. And then...when he had me pinned down...I could tell it wasn't him...that look in his eyes...there was something else there...using him..."

"My concern is the mine. How much of the Energon did the cons get?" Ratchet asked. To this Bumblebee hopped around making whirring noises and pointing his guns in various directions.

"He says he took the place down all by himself," Raf translated before being pulled away by Miko who was trying to play her guitar for him for some reason. Jack slumped his shoulders. Deciding that he should probably see what all was up, he ventured over to the other humans just as she was getting done playing the chords.

"So what do we got?" Jack asked the smaller boy out of the side of his mouth.

"She was trying to play this song she was making to me," Raf cringed. Jack smirked.

"That bad huh?" Jack mused.

"Is it ever good?" Raf shot back. Jack let out a sarcastic huff and eyed the Asian girl as she kicked a leg out from underneath her instrument. She sure did love to put on a show.

"That's my girlfriend you're talking about you know," he reminded.

"Oh I'm so scared..." Raf faked fright by putting his hands up to his mouth, "Whatever will you do to me for making fun of someone like Miko?..." The boys grinned at each other. Unfortunately for the younger one, it was just enough to instigate a bit of a response. Tucking Raf's head under his arm, he took the other hand and started rubbing his knuckles into his hair.

"Noogie!" Jack laughed through the flailing of Raf's arms.

"Hey hey hey!" Miko stomped her foot, "Interference in the audience! What the crap's up?"

"Half pint here thought it'd be fine to insult you in front of your boyfriend," Jack informed. Miko rolled her eyes as she set her guitar to the side.

"Jack, this is how you do it," she told him grabbing Raf away from him and performing the gesture even more viciously.

"Yow ow ow! Alright I give up!" Raf finally mangaed to pull his head out of the choke-hold, "screw you guys! I'm getting a drink!" Jack and Miko watched him until he exited into the more human-sized corridors of the base nursing his ruffled head. The two older teenagers giggled to each other and shared a quick kiss...which soon turned into a series of much longer ones that went unnoticed by the preoccupied Autobots...as well as the purplish large mechanical spider that climbed off of Optimus Prime's body and crawled into a hole at the ceiling of the base...

-end of chapter-

Mainly just romance stuff this time. But that's what people like to see I guess. Me? I can't really stand the writing, but this fic has like 29 reviews or something by now amazingly. So I guess here's the next pic. Shower time!

warahi(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Uncut-Scene-304813136


	9. Mischievous Path

Chapter 9: Mischievous Path

Tarantulas grumbled to himself as he sat down in his newly made operation chair and turned to the numerous computer monitors he had set up. Lazily he stretched before slouching over on one arm and flipping on one of the screens. It'd taken a few days but he certainly had more to work with than he had back in prehistoric Earth. Compared to that it'd been a snap to set up a little hideout in his newfound dwelling. That wasn't to say it was without repercussion of course. The days sluggishly drolled along in the ages it took for things to happen. The pacing was just so much slower than anywhere else he'd operated. But at least it gave him time to scan over the data he'd been collecting from the Autobots' mainframe.

Bored with watching the giant green Autobot working out, Tarantulas flipped the screen to another camera he'd set up. Almost immediately he scowled. It was that boy and girl thinking they were in private again. Honestly he was surprised they didn't have their own human mating show with how active they'd been since his arrival. Hearing a gasp from the female, Tarantulas shifted his view to a different screen entirely. On it was displayed schematics of various different models that Cybertronians had used over the ages. To him of course they were as primitive as clockwork. Still, catching up on reality's history could only prepare him for whatever might lie in wait for the future.

"Future," he scoffed, "That's a good one." If all went according to plan, the planet on which he was currently positioned would probably not last all that much longer. Even so, until that time came he couldn't help but tinker with things. Beneath all of his tendencies and revolting habits, he was a scientist at Spark. Therefore he'd forever be tinkering until the end of days with what all he could get his hands on. That's why he had two glowing green canisters set up at the wall behind him. Unable to stand the boredom of observation any longer, the purple Transformer hopped out of his chair and walked over to the containers. Within each was suspended a young humanoid being.

"As far as I can tell there aren't really any Techno-Organics here yet," Tarantulas' voice spoke to the unresponsive beings, "But you should be mature very soon. Those human children shouldn't be so eager to leave their DNA lying around anywhere. Works out fine for me of course..." Lightly he placed a claw on the glass of the female's cylinder and scraped it. "Now I'll get to see just how durable their reality's Cybertronian alloys actually are...rest up you two. You got quite the mission ahead of you..."

* * *

Still breathing rather deep, the boy and girl wobbled out of the old storage room. Jack rattled the door shut once he'd shaken feeling back into his limbs. Though surprised, he fully welcomed the kiss that Miko launched into him once the room was locked back up. It was normality by this point for the interaction to last for a minute or two before their heads really parted with each other, happiness still plastered on their faces. Even after the sweet touch had ended they stood there holding each other, their mentalities enraptured in the bliss of the affection.

"If we were in bed right now I'd probably be snoring..." Miko yawned. Jack chuckled back half-heartedly. As much as he'd like to one-up her, the boy was rather ragged himself.

"Yeah, and keeping me awake probably," he quipped. Miko gave a challenging glance to him.

"I'm not that bad," she murmured.

"You don't have to listen to you," Jack reminded pressing his nose against her's. Even though it was just playful, the two still felt the need to amp up the atmosphere of a quarrel to each other. Really set the mood. Especially with what usually came when they made up afterwards. It seemed like forever that they stared into each other's eyes, their vision filled with the very life of that which they held so dear. Tenderly their lips met again. This time however the kiss only took a couple of seconds. But it meant just as much.

"Mom's home tonight," Jack told her. The information made Miko's face sag a tiny bit.

"...movie still?" she asked quivering her lower lip hopefully. Jack shot a few bemused streams of air out of his nostrils and ruffled the smaller human's hair.

"Of course," he replied. Squealing, Miko hopped onto Jack and rubbed her cheek against his. Ever the one in control of their emotions, Jack merely ran his hand along her back.

"And that means time spent ignoring the movie!" Miko grinned and wiggled her eyebrows at him. Jack rolled his eyes.

"But can't be too noisy with her home." Miko's brows slowed until they lay bent at her eyelids, the look a bit dejected. After a few seconds of thinking, a smile sprang back to her face as she squeezed Jack even harder than before.

"I think I can live," she told him through half-closed eyes, "Just so long as we keep up our little get togethers here."

"Deal," Jack smiled, "Right now though I'm feeling up for a ride. You game?"

"Nah," Miko shrugged, "I gotta make sure that Bulky-boy's behavvin'."

"You mean con him into helping you pull pranks on Ratchet?"

"What else?" Miko grinned. Shaking his head, Jack allowed Miko to break free and bound off down the hallway. He really did love her, but he also liked seeing her get caught with her hand in the cookie jar whenever she got on Ratchet's nerves. Hopefully it wouldn't wind up as bad as her ending up in the Australian outback again once the doc-bot decided to get his revenge. But by god if he was going to miss such hilarious events unfold.

It didn't take long for the teenage boy to find his partner. As per usual she was training with a dummy they had set up at base for whenever the Autobots needed to hone their skills. AKA: When they were bored. With one quick snap of her foot, the blue female Cybertronian disconnected the prop's head. Pretending that it still had the functions to be stunned, Arcee then grabbed the rest of the body by the arms and kicked into the chest sending the opponent flying backwards into the wall while she tore the limbs out of their propelled sockets. The remains fell to the ground with a thud. Arcee blinked and looked to the side upon hearing the slow clapping.

"And that is how I know I'm never in danger when a con thinks they're gonna catch me or anything else," Jack announced. Arcee smirked and cocked a brow.

"Maybe I should let you fend for yourself for a change sometime then," Arcee shot back as she walked over to him.

"And what would you tell Optimus?"

"Oh I'm sorry, but I simply couldn't hear his cries for help over his overinflated sense of immunity to harm sir. Twas a travesty when I found that I was the one that actually stepped on him," Arcee gasped dramatically. Jack put his hands on his hips happy to exchange quips.

"And what would you tell my mom?" he inquired. Arcee's eyes widened a bit.

"...scrap, I didn't think about that..." she murmured quietly. The two exchanged a humored glance marking the end of the conversation.

"I take it you're bored?" Jack asked. Arcee shrugged.

"Nah, I just like to beat up random props for no reason..." she replied sitting down next to him, "What'd you have in mind?"

"Thought that a ride might help," Jack offered. Arcee's small mouth widened a bit at the suggestion.

"You sure know how to cheer a girl up," she told him morphing into vehicle-mode. Even in her transformed state he could see his reddening cheeks. "Relax lover-boy, I'm not gonna steal you away from that party animal even with as little effort as that'd take." Jack chuckled a bit and bent over into the steering mechanism.

"Ready," he told her. The vehicle revved to life.

* * *

"Now honestly my lord, please just do as I ask for once in this Primus-forsaken life and don't urge the suppressant anymore than it can take!" Knockout complained. His stomps of annoyance filled the Nemesis. "What you did the other day was complete foolhardy and wreckless! The EXACT kind of actions that could trigger my findings to fail! Now I'm a lot closer to finding a real cure to this whole thing, but that will require you to sit tight until that time! I mean by the Allspark, what were you thinking!" Megatron had to admit even he was surprised. He'd never seen the doctor so worked up, and never had he seen such distaste in his own direction from such a smaller Decepticon.

"Dear Knockout, I do believe you're overreacting," the Decepticon leader sighed figuring it best to simply act fed up with him.

"Over-OVERREACTING?" Knockout cried clutching the sides of his head, "Well gee, what gave that away! Now Starscream, he might not have been the sharpest blade in the Energon Weapons Stash, but he at least had sense to fear the blood of our creator's polar opposite! But you, you just go around using it like some kind of toy! Even after you've seen what kind of slag it causes you continue to just toss it into whatever situation you want! You see Optimus and you're just all like "By the power of Unicron!" and slam it into your Spark! So yeah, I am quite a bit pissed that you don't give a damn about your health when you're leading THE ENTIRE DECEPTICON ARMY!" His engine revving from the rant, Knockout let out a deep breath and collapsed in a chair behind him.

"...Lord Megatron I'm sorry...I know it's not my place to tell you of all cons what to do, but it gets so incredulously irritating around here with no one ever-"

"It's alright doctor," Megatron grumbled. In astonishment the red Decepticon looked up. He wasn't having his life threatened or physically being injured in any way? "I promise I will take more care..." Megatron continued reluctantly, "Just...that smell of battle...it's my nature. It never goes away for a Gladiator. Just...keep up the good work..." Too stunned to give a salute, Knockout just sat watching the larger silver Cybertronian as he exited the medical facility.

* * *

"Alright boys, we got this!" the excited Asian girl hopped up and down happily, "You ready Bulk?"

"Ready!" the large metallic being said through his com-link.

"And you Raf?" Miko's eyes were squinting in anticipation.

"Uh...are you sure we should be-"

"GOOD!" Miko approved without giving so much as a second thought. The phone was clicked off and pocketed before she could hear anything that Raf was trying to say. It'd been simple enough to get Bulkhead to agree to her mischievous plans. Once the exhaustion from her...activity-time with Jack earlier had worn off, the female was just as desiring for excitement as before. And what better way than to mess with the grouchiest member of the team? Raf on the other hand had been a different matter. But he was a still a little kid, and as such was much easier to convince in playing along with her schemes than Jack was most of the time. And now that everything was in motion, Miko got into position.

As always, Ratchet was busy with working on something around the base. Currently he was toiling away at a device on the computer he was usually tinkering with The device in question that he was using was some sort of flash drive that he'd been transferring data to the computer from. The only reason Miko knew that was because Raf had told her what it was. Hardly able to suppress her bubbling energy, Miko tip toed up behind the medic. After making sure he didn't know she was there, she lifted her hand and brought it down hard on her guitar. Immediately Ratchet let out a cry of alarm and dropped the flash drive on the ground.

"MIKO!" he yelled stooping over to make sure she could see his frustration.

"By the Allspark, what's goin' on in here?" Bulkhead's voice murmured. Ratchet didn't have time to even notice the device had fallen to the floor before he heard a loud crack. Disbelief running through his circuitry, the Autobot doctor eyed the smashed drive and brought a hand to his face.

"...I need to ask Fowler where he takes vacations..." Ratchet grumbled. He didn't even give the effort to flail his arms or show any real sign of distaste as he walked off into the base to fetch another of the flash drives. The annoying occurrences were to be expected on an hourly basis most days. Miko and Bulkhead turned to each other once the door had closed and grinned.

"Alright Raf, time to work your magic!" Miko yelled. Quickly, Bulkhead deposited both the girl and the carefully broken pieces of the flash drive on the couch next to him.

"Guys, I really don't know if this is-"

"Less talky more pranky!" Miko ordered shaking his head. Seeing as there was no real way to win the argument, the boy genius sighed and got to work hooking up wires into the mechanism. By the time Ratchet returned he was surprised to see a fully restored version of the contraption that Bulkhead had stepped on.

"Fixed it for ya," Miko claimed sticking out her lower lip at the red and white Autobot, "even had Raf test it to see if it worked! We're REALLY sowwy!..." Ratchet's eye twitched at the fluttering of her's.

"Uh...thanks..." he muttered, "Just...don't disturb me please." Giving a thumbs up to Raf, she whisked down the steps and snatched her guitar. It'd worked good enough for a giant living robot, might as well keep it on hand in case she needed it again.

* * *

The wind swept past the boy's body as the vehicle he was riding picked up speed. The thrill of the velocity washing over him, Jack bent forward into the steering of the motorcycle. The chill of the air as they went faster and faster, the sense of freedom that came with such vivid moving. He loved it. Jack had learned long ago that the atmosphere of the activity only meant one thing. They were going to try a stunt. Bracing himself, he clutched even tighter to the handles of the vehicle and bent down more.

Her partner's silent permission granted, Arcee put her brakes on causing the speed to bend the bike upwards. Jack felt the world fall loose around him as they propelled into the air. Limberly the motorcycle and its passenger flipped twice above the ground and landed spinning to a stop on the back wheel. Jack hadn't realized he'd stopped breathing until he allowed himself to sit up in the seat and took a look at the skid mark they'd made.

"Yeah," he nodded giving the handles a pat, "Miko's right. You kick ass."

"I'd take that as a compliment if it weren't already a well-known fact," the vehicle replied. Jack smirked at the controls in front of him while his foot pressed gingerly on the pedal of the vehicle.

"Alright Ms. Badass. How's about we head home? Getting pretty late," he requested noticing the setting sun out of the corner of his eye.

"Well, no need to incur the wrath of your mom," Arcee figured. Steadily the bike swung around and started in the direction of the more populated town of Jasper in the distance. The ride seemed like it was going to be a rather quiet one until Jack realized something.

"I forgot! It's movie night tonight," he groaned, "Hey can you ask Bulkhead if he can drop Miko off at-"

"Bulkhead, this is Arcee. Just wanting to know if you can drop Miko off at Jack's tonight...alright thanks," the blue bike said, "There ya go. Don't mind givin' the girl a lift but I also wouldn't mind her losing a few pounds." To this Jack chuckled a bit.

"Well, fortunately we've never had you flip over and skid her along the ground to scrape some of her apart," he teased.

"Cause I'd never thought of that before now. Thank you partner," the bike replied happily. Knowing that her voice would be impossible to hear over Jack's and the wind, the vehicle joined in the laughter. In the quietness that followed, the Cybertronian began to think some things over about the girl that now frequently rode her. Sure imagining the damage she could inflict on the human whenever she spouted out whatever annoying crap she could think of was amusing. But...these thoughts went a bit deeper.

"So...I take it you're treating Miko alright?" Arcee asked. Jack blinked at the surprising question.

"You're asking me if I'm the one behaving?" he laughed. In retrospect yeah, it had been a pretty pathetic way to start up the conversation.

"Yeah...stupid question," Arcee admitted. Slowing, she wheeled to a stop at one of the lights of the town. "But really...just wanted to know how things are going and all that mainly. You able to tolerate her? Have as much fun as you thought you would?"

"I'd say we're pretty well beyond how much fun I thought we'd be having," Jack smiled turning his head to the sky as memories flashed through his mind.

"Then the mating's going well?" Arcee assumed. The new question had the boy in a coughing fit from the shock it brought. "We're not gonna have to take you to the hospital are we?" the machine asked confused as to what had brought about the sudden diaphragm disturbance.

"No!" Jack hacked, "No...ahem...it's just...you don't ask that as a normal question to humans." The boy rubbed the back of his head as his cheeks lit up. Fortunately he had cool air to ease them back to normal once the light turned green. "But...yeah...we're doing fine...she might be a bit...gross at times, but I...love her..." Arcee's lights flickered for a moment. She too was a bit surprised with the discussion. She honestly never thought she'd hear Jack say that in a serious tone.

"Uhuh..." she murmured, "And what about Sierra?..." Jack's eyes went wide and his head fell at the mention of the name. His cheeks were crimson, but for a different reason than normal.

"Um...tryin' not to think about her..." he said in almost a whisper. The motorcycle slowed down a bit from the feeling of guilt that swam over its mentality.

"Look Jack, animals can't help what they like...its hormones and all that. I can safely say that I myself have liked numerous male Cybertronians, even some Decepticons appearance-wise. Slag I even used to fantasize about me and them doing-"

"Don't need to hear that!" Jack speedily announced through gritted teeth. Arcee now shared his embarrassment.

"Eh...hehe...sorry. Just saying...it's what's on the inside that counts," she told him getting to the point. His composure regained, Jack smiled and shook his head.

"Trust me, I'm not the one you need to worry about," he assured her.

"Then I have your permission to step on her if she messes up?"

"You needed my permission?" Jack asked with a sly smile. The conversation came to an end as the motorcycle pulled into the driveway next to a larger green car.

"Miko's already here?" Jack wondered aloud as he got off.

"Waitin' for ya inside," the big vehicle told him, "And uh...if an ambulance comes by tonight...uh...well I'm sure you'll think of something!" Jack didn't have time to ask what the largest guardian was talking about before he pulled out of the driveway and sped down the street. After scratching his head, Jack shrugged and walked inside.

"Hey mom!" Jack called as he entered. Looking around he couldn't see anyone in the living room. Figuring Miko was in his room, Jack went to the closet and kicked off his shoes. He was wrong. Just as the second shoe hit the ground he was rocketed forward by the surprise of a loud guitar chord being played. "What the hell!" he cried grabbing his beating chest. Right behind where he'd been standing Miko was in a stream of laughter, guitar-in-hand. "Cute..." Jack murmured lifting a brow.

"Oh you love me," Miko stated slinking up under his neck and rubbing her head into it while her hands continued to strum the instrument, "Your mom ain't home yet by the way which means..." Miko's voice dropped to a more sultry tone. Taking her hand off the guitar, she pulled Jack's to her chest from behind and grinned up at him. "Got a some time before the movie to get ready," she winked. Jack's grin joined her's.

-end of chapter-

So guess Jack and Miko got it pretty okay right now it seems. But don't worry, won't be this bland forever.

For instance... warahi(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Desk-Job-305239852


	10. Warped Resolves

Chapter 10: Warped Resolves

The lids finally exposed to the air, they eyes of the head slid open. It blinked a few times to become accustomed to the light. Slowly, the human being lifted his head and shook it. Looking down he could see that he was naked. Jackson Darby. That was his name. Curiously he lifted his hand and inspected it, his mind ever-wandering. His curiosity was unquenchable. He desired to know how things worked as well as wished to use such knowledge to aide him and others. Looking to his side he could see a female just about the same age as he, her actions just as seeking as his. Miko Nakadai.

Lazily her hands fell back to keep her balance on the ground they were sitting on. Even though she'd just now had the gift of consciousness given to her she was tired. Letting out a yawn, she lifted her arm and scratched along the side of her breast. Even in the trivial motions her mind was toiling away, sorting through the information that'd been placed into it. Her name. Her age. The knowledge of her biology. Manners...and lack thereof. It was all there. The information had been filtered into their heads during the course of their birthing and slumber. And the last thing that came into their heads was him. The transforming spider.

"Greetings," Tarantulas chuckled. The two teenagers looked up at him, their thoughts similar. "Welcome to life," he announced spreading his arms into the air dramatically, "I am your father. Now then. Let's get started on your mission." The boy and girl looked at each other and smiled.

* * *

If Bulkhead and Arcee were in the base they would more than likely have been hopping around to avoid Bumblebee and Rafael's mad dash throughout the facility. Safe to say, it was only Ratchet enjoying the delightful activity. Almost getting knocked over by Bumblebee yet again, the medic growled and spun around.

"Will you two knock it off! I already have enough to worry about with-yah!" the red and white Autobot's plea went unheard as the yellow one fell into him toppling him to the ground. In spite of sympathetically helping the older Autobot back to his feet, the yellow one still gave him quite an earful of the whirring noises that his voice synthesizer made. "I don't give a scrap if you're playing Hide n' Seek, I'm doing work here!" Ratchet grumbled slamming his fist down on his console, "Very focus-consuming work that would go a lot smoother without people constantly running around like Scraplets in a junkyard! Especially after that corrupted flash drive!"

Raf and Bumblebee crouched a bit at the level of the annoyed Cybertronian's voice. Sure it was normal for him to be more strict and grouchy than the other Autobots, but rarely did he get so angry. With Miko's help however, it seemed to be a sinch to get on the medic's nerves to that degree. Raf was still having to explain that the flash drive prank hadn't been entirely his fault. Didn't help his cause of course that certain folks hadn't decided to show their faces around the place for a while. Ever since that evening he hadn't seen wheel or bumper of Bulkhead, and Arcee always just said that Jack was busy these days.

Not feeling up to arguing with the older Autobot, the boy and his guardian got back to playing their game, albeit a bit more controlled this time. Since the activity had been interrupted, Bumblebee decided to give Raf his chance to hide. While the Autobot counted, the young boy zipped behind some large cords near the entrance of the room and giggled to himself. With his size there'd be no way that Bumblebee would be finding him all that soon. Needless to say, that's how it normally was since he was an ant compared to him. Well...not an ant...maybe more of a dog...a guinea pig?...

Raf would've continued thinking up analogies had the doors not hissed open next to him scaring away his wandering brain. His fright was soon replaced by relief. Through the open path entered the two other humans of the group with Bulkhead following closely behind them. Before Raf could point the girl out, Ratchet had spotted her.

"Well well well, if it isn't little Miss Lolcats herself," the Autobot seethed, hands on his hips. Not one to take the heat for such pressured actions himself in light of the angered medic, Bulkhead slithered out of the room leaving Miko glaring up at the red and white Cybertronian.

"I really don't have time to deal with you right now, so just shut it tin can," Miko snapped as she walked across the room. Ratchet and Raf's jaws dropped. Even after the girl had ventured deeper into the halls of the base they remained in quite a state of shock. Remembering that there was still one more newcomer to greet however, Raf turned his attention to Jack. The disbelief of Miko's attitude was lessened, but not by much. For some reason, Jack also had quite a sour expression on his face.

"...hey..." Raf waved from his hiding spot.

"Hey." Jack replied stalely. Without another word he turned and walked through a doorway next to him. Something was wrong.

* * *

"Alright, now are you sure that's him?" Tarantulas' voice asked through the heads of the boy and girl. Once they'd been able to fully operate their bodies without conflict, they'd been dressed up in what little the Predacon had been able to scrounge together. The leg garments had been easy enough to collect with little consequence other than their previous owner's embarrassment. The shirts however he'd had to manufacture himself. But all in all they'd turned out rather nicely in his opinion.

"Affirmative," Jack confirmed. Miko on the other hand just looked around the room in a rather bored state of mind. "He's blue and red. Tallest of them," the boy continued on with a description. Miko's eyes spotted something. It was rather shiny and had cords running along it. A smile on her face, the girl began wandering towards it. This all went unnoticed by Jack of course who was naturally more focused on the mission they'd been given. That's why he was so surprised to see the leader of the Autobots turn and look at the girl that should have been at his side.

"Good day Miko," his bold voice greeted. The girl froze in midgrab of the guitar. "I take it you were desiring to play a song of some sort?" Optimus Prime asked. No response. Worried that he may have somehow broken the human, the Cybertronian started walking towards her. Jack slapped his forehead. Of course she'd be the one to not figure out how to respond so soon after she'd been released...leaving it up to him to work out a solution.

"She um, just uh...wanted to get her guitar without uh...disturbing you!" Jack exclaimed dragging Optimus' attention to the crate they'd been hiding behind. Relieved that the attention was off her, Miko grabbed the guitar and peered back at Jack. He was signaling for her to finish the job on the Autobot. The Asian girl glanced up at the hulking opponent and then back down at the guitar and shrugged. Jack's eye twitched upon seeing her exit through the door behind her. He felt like tearing the hair right out of his head in frustration. Seeing that he couldn't take on such a large target alone, Jack shrugged his way out of the situation as well and took down the hall they'd entered the room from. Optimus Prime was thoroughly confused by the whole ordeal...and by the fact that the children had been wearing different clothes than normal.

* * *

"Alright...so what's up?" Raf asked. Miko only spared a few seconds to glance at the boy before she got back to playing her game. Her expression just as unkempt as when she'd entered the base, Miko's focus on the game was practically unbreakable even with Raf plopping down on the couch next to her. Her car on the screen just kept on its path. "...you know Ratchet's still miffed about you having me infect the entire mainframe with all those memes and gifs..." The only response Miko gave was a blink. That didn't stop Raf from trying of course. He knew ways to get to his friends. Casually he picked up the second controller and joined the game. If Miko wasn't going to pay attention he'd make her.

Miko probably knew she didn't stand a chance. But her gaming nature couldn't let her just set forfeit. No, she had to be rammed off the course in the level. And so she was, her vehicle sent plummeting to the rocky canyon below, smoke billowing from the damaged spot like a wound in the Earth. Without warning, Miko tackled the smaller boy and began throttling him about. Raf had never been more fearing of his health in his life. Only through careful tickling did he break free and get a chance at breathing. A second later he was under the girl once more, her hands at his throat. Then she stopped. In a split moment, realization washed over her eyes and she hopped back a bit. This wasn't Jack she was grappling with.

"Raf! I-uh...you okay?..." she asked cringing a bit. After the coughing and hacking had subsided some, the small boy nodded and gave a weak thumbs-up. Slowly he slumped back into the curve of the couch's arm and let out a relieved sigh.

"So...what the hell's up?..." he murmured, a more irritated hint in his voice now. Blushing, Miko rubbed the back of her head.

"N...nothing..." she said quietly. Raf cocked a brow.

"Uhuh, and that's why you and Jack walked off as glumly as you did earlier," Raf sarcastically remarked, "So how's about you spill what happened? Did he dump you?" Miko opened her mouth but no words came out. Instead she slid her face downwards. Raf's eyes expanded. "Oh-uh!...I mean...if he did I'm real sorr-"

"No it's not that...I hope..." Miko grumbled, her cheeks red, "It's just...he needs to let loose! Live a little you know? I've been making progress ever since meeting him with getting him to open up of course, but still, you'd think by now he'd be fine with me messing with him! Not my fault if he can't take a joke..." Raf rolled his eyes. So THAT's what it was.

"Miko, what did you do?" Raf grumbled. The girl seemed determined not to look at him again.

"...nothing," she replied folding her arms over her chest while her head turned upwards. Raf shook his head. She was just as thick-skulled as ever. When something bad happened it couldn't possibly be her fault. It was always someone else. In her world she was perfect, as was the way with any common child's mentality before they learned discipline.

"Miko...Jack might need to lighten up sometimes, but he doesn't get mad without a reason," Raf reminded. That got Miko's attention. He'd challenged her view.

"There's no reason to be embarrassed over me squeezing his ass in public!" Miko spat. Immediately Raf's face flushed while he pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course Miko of all girls wouldn't think it was a big deal by this point. But she' knew Jack. What did she expect? "It was just one little grab. Wasn't even thinking about it at the time and he goes all "I'm not talking to you right now" mode on me! Hardly anyone even saw it too!"

"But there were people around..." Raf said quietly. He was still trying to get his head around having what Miko had done blurted at him.

"And he just can't have fun!" Miko retorted. Her face was red as well, but for a rather more tense reason.

"Then why are you trying to be with him if he doesn't meet your standards?" Raf questioned. Miko's face twitched a bit as her mind searched for a response.

"I-he-I'm not!...he's just-GAH! SHUT UP!" she cried. Tears on the brim of her eyes, Miko hopped off the couch and ran out of the room leaving Raf staring at the spot she'd been sitting at.

"...maybe I should take a course in Counseling..." he muttered to himself.

* * *

"I...I know Arcee..." Jack sighed, "Doesn't change what I feel for her and all that...it's just she...you know how infuriating she gets sometimes..." The Cybertronian could only nod in agreement. "But...I dunno...I guess I just need some time alone to think about it...thanks for talking."

"Anytime partner," Arcee winked. Smiling, Jack turned and entered into one of the hallways of the base. He didn't know where he'd be going, but walks always did help create atmosphere for the wandering mind. For what seemed like half an hour he just strolled through the more human-fitting areas of the complex. Corridors that he and his friends would talk about the latest adventure in. Ones that they'd hold little races in to see who would wear out the fastest that day. And ones that, as of late, would have solely him and Miko in...

Jack came to a stop. To his side he could see the door to the room that they'd most recently had one of their private sessions in. The memories made him squint a bit. Yes Miko was fun and all...but she was also annoying. For all the good times they had, she ensured that ones equally as bad were right around the corner. Whether it be through embarrassment or annoyance, she was there to seal the deal. Of course in her mind she was just having fun. That's what it always was. Just fun. Whatever gave the pleasure in that moment in time, no matter what the consequences might be later.

Jack let out a sigh as his head titled against the door. And of course...if she wasn't like that...he probably wouldn't have as much fun as she let him in on. Truth be told Jack couldn't imagine how he could go back to his boring old life after the events that had unfolded that day that he'd met Arcee...and even if he were to have to suffer such dullness at least Miko would be there to pester him. In fact...that was one of the things he liked so much. The attention she gave and sought from him. The chase she initiated. That thrill that came with the joy of living for the moment. It really was a gift she'd bestowed on him.

"Maybe...I do need to lighten up a bit..." he said quietly. Even Jack knew he could get a bit unbearable at times with how serious-minded he was. But he had to be to counteract the hyperness of his female team member. Muttering something to himself, Jack slid his face to the side and his eyes widened. Walking down the hall was the girl he'd had his mind so focused on.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Assgrabber herself," he grumbled. The girl's pigtails jumped a bit at the surprise of seeing him.

"Oh, look if you're upset about me bailing on the whole Optimus Prime thing, get over it. I got better things to do than slag some giant ass Autobot," the girl told him before plucking a few strings on the guitar she was caring. Jack just looked at her in confusion. Now having a better view of her he could tell that there was something different about her. It wasn't just the way she'd talked to him, but even her physical appearance was different. Her shirt wasn't her normal one. It was purplish with a diamond-shaped M-like symbol on it.

"Uh...where'd you get the shirt?..." Jack wondered. Miko looked down at it and then realized the oddity of his clothing as well.

"I should be asking you that," she laughed, "did you decide to steal the rest of your original's outfit? Probably a good idea. Once I see, well, me I'll probably try and take her's too. Should be nice ditching spider-face for civilian life. See! I am rubbin' off on ya!" Just as excitedly as Jack usually knew Miko to be, the girl wrapped her arm around his neck and pressed her cheek against his. It was like Miko...but different. There was something really...off about her...other than the fact that she seemed to have forgotten how pissed they'd been at each other earlier. And in the presentation of the new attitude, Jack had pretty much forgotten too. His mind was just trying to figure out what all was going on with her.

"Miko, what are you-"

"Look, I know we're supposed to be following orders," the girl mocked making quote-marks in the air with her fingers, "But I got my own ideas, and I'm sure you do too. You just don't have the nerve to do what you're not told. But don't worry Jacky! With me around it'll be just fine. Now let's put in motion our masterly plan why don't we?" Giggling, the girl dragged the confused boy off down the halls.

* * *

"Well I don't give a damn! You two are supposed to be offlining Optimus Prime, not doing whatever the hell you want! Miko's shut off her com-link so I don't really have a way to yell at her. It's up to you to either get her for me or take care of Optimus yourself! Whatever you decide to do, just GET IT DONE!" Jack squinted slightly at the harshness of the end of the sentence. Doubtful in the confidence of himself, the boy lowered his finger from his ear and continued his trek through the base. Ever since his partner had abandoned him he hadn't seen head or tail of her. It infuriated him. She didn't follow orders. Which meant he had to make sure she did.

Where he'd find her though was a mystery. The girl hadn't even been arsed to leave a trail or anything. She just up and left. Yet something told him that she wouldn't be leaving the base without him if she could help it...at least not permanently. There was something about her that he felt somewhat of a bond to, even if on the most minuscule level. It had been there when they first saw each other. She enjoyed teasing him. Even if she hadn't realized it at the time, that's what'd been part of her decision in abandoning him. Having the goal right there only to be whisked away. She nudged him on so that he'd be more open.

The boy was contemplating just attempting to finish the mission himself, as worrying a thought as that might be, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Miko. Scowling, he started to approach. Noticing the company as well, the girl wiped her eyes and took off running. Miko ran as fast as she could. She really did not need to talk to him right now. She didn't really have a choice though. As she rounded the next corner, Jack seemingly appeared in front of her. Miko did a double-take to see if he was really there and not down the hall where he had been. He was. Somehow he'd beaten her to the corner!

"Look Mr. Bland, I don't wanna see you right now," Miko told him folding her arms over her chest. Jack cocked a brow and grabbed her by the shoulder. Miko felt like crying some more as the touch impacted her. It wasn't for emotional reasons though. There was a force behind his grab that normally wasn't there. Some kind of unbreakable grip that drilled into her skin. It almost...hurt...

"Frankly, I don't give a damn," he muttered back, "We're going to finish the job...and did you kill your original when you took her clothes? We already have enough to deal with as is!" Miko blinked, her previous emotional turmoil forgotten. Now she was just confused.

"...what?" she said, "What are you talking about?..."

"I must commend you of course. You were actually using your head for once...steal the clothing and better assimilate into normal life. Nice job. But not our mission," Jack continued. Miko only grew more and more confused with each passing sentence. Then her brows furrowed. That was it. He was trying to confuse her! Well that wouldn't work!

"Look, I dunno what the crap you're talking about, but you don't have to be such an ass all the time!" she yelled. Now the boy was the one to blink. Miko may not have known what he'd been on about, but she did know that her words had effected him. She could see it in the way his eyes shifted.

"...do you...really think that?..." he asked quietly. Miko blushed. She didn't think he'd actually be disappointed by such a remark, not with how he'd been acting...still, he deserved it...didn't he?... "Look...Miko...I act how I do because...I care about you...I thought you knew that," he told her, his grip becoming softer. Miko could feel her cheeks heating up more. "Aside from brainiac, you're the only pal I got..." The strength returning, he pulled the girl into a strong embrace. Miko felt like she could melt right then and there. Lovingly she returned the hug. It stayed that way for quite a few seconds...until she looked through the window of a door next to her. She was staring into Jack's face who looked just as shocked. They looked back at their respective partners curiously, a hint of realization starting to flood their systems, then back at each other.

"What are you looking at-"

"Nothing!" Jack cut the Miko he was with off forcefully grabbing her to keep her away from the window. She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

"Okay, look, I've had it just about up to here with your asinine taking-control-of-the-sitatuon...ness all the time! Just cause your older doesn't make you the leader!" she growled.

"No, it's cause I'm the one that's smarter and more cautious and uses my head that makes me the leader," he shot back, instincts overtaking him. The girl was gritting her teeth now. Jack took a step back. It wasn't her enraged state that got to him. No, he was used to Miko being annoyed. No, it was the fact that strange-pincer-like formations were working their way out of her cheeks and her hands were splitting apart down the middle that got to him. A palish yellow-tinted fluid seeped out of the open skin, her body becoming a bit drenched.

"Why...don't...you...ever...stop! Why can't you let me have fun!" she yelled, her voice turning a bit distorted. Needless to say Jack was shocked. He'd figured it wasn't the girl he'd come to know since meeting the Autobots, and may not have known just what exactly the creature was...but it was still Miko at heart...and she thought he was a Jack that she knew...

"...because you're a loud-mouth jerkass that can't ever be bothered to take into consideration anyone else's feelings!" Jack yelled back. The warped Miko he was looking at seemed to be on the verge of getting ready to kill him. Instead, her body shifted back to normal and she fell into his chest crying as her hands beat on his shoulders. Now Jack had no idea what to do. Desperately he looked to the original Miko who looked just as sad as the Miko he was interacting with did. Just then she let out a shrill scream which popped open the eye of the Miko on his chest. Spotting the original girl, the clone slid her vision up to the boy she was with, her eyelid lowering a bit due to the mischievous thoughts flowing through her mind.

Before she could act, a long sharp appendage sliced through the wall behind her and knocked the entire structure down. Hastily, the normal Miko dashed over to Jack and wrapped her arms around him knocking the clone out of the way in the process. What she'd been screaming about now stood clear as day near Jack's side. A large spidery-limbed creature that looked like it was made out of organic and mechanical structures stooped over them, a cannon between the top of its eyes with a scorpion-like tail waving back forth behind it. At the ends of its cheeks sat pipe-like structures which some kind of exhaust leaked out of while torn arms dangled beneath it with tentacles slithering about through them.

"Ah, Jack, there you are," the other Miko smiled up at the creature.

"J-Jack?..." the original girl gulped. Before her eyes her body was tearing apart as it had when Jack had enraged the clone. Only now it wasn't stopping. The legs were tearing into multiple ones while the hips dislocated themselves and rearranged the limbs to the back. Sharp structures protruded from the cheek-bones and the yellowish liquid that'd sprayed out of the Jack clone when he'd morphed rained to the ground below her. The two humans clung for dear life to each other. "...no matter what's happened, I love you..." Miko told him squeezing him tight.

"I love you too, but I think we should probably get out of here!" Jack exclaimed. Grabbing, Miko's hand, the boy took off through the halls of the base, the spider-like entities hot on their tails. No matter how fast they went, the clitter-clatter of the bug-like creatures' legs remained just as present.

"God! We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're gonna-"

"We sure are if you keep thinking like that!" Jack yelled. It was hard enough to run without the girl constantly voicing her fears. Unfortunately that was the least of their worries. Just ahead of them was Rafael who seemed rather delighted to see them.

"Oh, I guess you two have alread-"

"Sorry Raf!" they cried not having enough time to stop. With a thud the child was knocked to the side where he sat shaking his head. Hearing an odd series of noises, he looked to the side and thought he was having a nightmare. Two spider-like beings were charging in his direction! Luckily for him, they just passed by with only a brush to knock him back down.

"Sorry Raf!" Jack and Miko's voices sounded from the creatures. Bewildered by the whole thing, Raf rubbed his glasses on his vest and started after the chase. Those two had obviously done something stupid.

* * *

Gasping and panting, Jack and Miko slowed to a stop in the main lobby of the base. It didn't take long for the spidery clones to catch up to them. Miko's one chuckled as she crouched down next to them, her hands rubbing together eagerly.

"L-look, just stop and tell us what you're doing!" Jack pleaded.

"Well you've seen us, so we're going to keep you quiet," the boy's voice responded from the male arachnid.

"But why!" Miko asked, "you guys obviously think like us! Why can't we be friends!"

"Oh please," her one laughed, "you're telling me you wouldn't like to wreck crap if you could do what we do? It's fun!" Miko and Jack hugged each other tightly.

"But if you're like us, why aren't you keeping her-"

"In check?" the clone finished. Jack nodded slowly. "Tried it. Didn't work out. Besides, I like her idea a lot more than taking orders from our old master. Take over your lives so we can live more freely. Simple and efficient. So just sit still and let us kill you."

"Fun times..." Miko's voice chuckled evilly.

"I don't think so..." a grumpy voice muttered. The group looked up to see a rather annoyed Ratchet. Before the creatures could so much as jump he'd slapped their bodies together in stasis-cuffs causing them to collapse to the ground frozen. One by one the other Autobots appeared around the group. "Thanks for the heads up," Ratchet said to the young boy at the upper floor of the room.

"No problem," Raf smiled back. Seeing as they couldn't do anything else, the two clones morphed back into their human forms. Jack and Miko blushed while Raf, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead covered their eyes to keep from looking at the now naked bodies. Given the alternative, they might have actually wished the clones would've killed them.

"Now then," Ratchet stooped down to them, "Just what are you?"

"We're clones," the captured Miko replied.

"Miko!" the Jack one grumbled.

"What? We're captured. Besides, not workin' for him really anymore anyhow," she shrugged.

"Working for who?" Optimus Prime questioned, "What are you? Where did you come from?"

"We were techno-organic Transformers sent to kill you," the Jack clone gave in. The Autobots' optics widened, "But little Miss Dumbass here thought it'd be fun to just do whatever she pleased!"

"You liked it too!" she spat. The Jack clone could only blush in shame.

"But where did you come from!" Ratchet insisted. The Jack clone rolled his eyes.

"You don't pronounce the H in W H- words," the Jack clone grumbled.

"Oh thank you!" Miko cried, "I can't tell you how annoying that gets! It's worse than Raf insisting that we use the right spellings for things!" The younger boy shot a distasteful look down at the girl. Ratchet rolled his optics.

"Answer the question," Optimus ordered.

"Tarantulas," the Miko clone told them, "some bug-like Transformer that's got a hideout in your base." The mouths of the Autobots dropped open at the claim in shock. They had an intruder? "So uh...if we're not gonna kill our look-a-likes can you let us go?" Ratchet glanced at Optimus who nodded back. Figuring it was safe enough with everyone around, the medic released the clones causing the participants that had their vision covered to hide it even more. "Well, guess we'll be going then," she chirped and started walking towards the exit of the base with the Jack clone. Ratchet's metal foot blocked their path.

"...can't have two Jacks and two Mikos running around I assume?" the naked boy asked.

"Precisely," was the answer he got. Bumblebee gave a few whirring noises to the medic inciting a curious look from the Cybertronian.

"Bumblebee, I highly doubt they'd really enjoy Cybertron-"

"CYBERTRON?" the Miko cloned squealed hopping up and down, "Oh I have so wanted to go there!"

"Miko-"

"NO! You got to go there back when you were his cells!" the Miko clone yelled pointing at the original Jack, "I wanna go! NOW!"

"But what about if the atmosphere's harmful to you?" Ratchet asked.

"We're created to terminate Optimus Prime. Our master designed us for all sortsa terrain. This'll be no problem," the Jack clone assured him. Another glance at his leader caused Ratchet to shake his head and walk over to the Ground Bridge computer.

"Have fun," he muttered as the portal open. Not even giving the Jack clone the chance to talk back, the Miko one grabbed him and ran into the light. As the portal died down, the room's atmosphere started returning to normal after the bizarre events.

"Autobots...we need to talk," Optimus Prime told his crew signaling for them to follow him out of the room. Once they were gone, Miko and Jack turned to each other, their faces red. They knew they still had to resolve what'd happened before the whole incident had begun.

"Well..whoever that Tarantulas guy was sure got us cloned...properly," she mumured glancing down at their bodies. The redness in Jack's face increased from the comment. "...look Jack...I know...you care about me and want to look out for me and want to keep me from doing stupid stuff and all that crap...and...to an extent yeah...you're right. I am pretty damn stupid sometimes...I'm...sorry about earlier..." she sighed. With what all had happened that day, Jack didn't know whether he should be surprised by this point over the simple fact that she was apologizing or not. What he did know is that he couldn't be mad at her. Not now. Snuggly he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her head.

"And I'm sorry...I probably do need to lighten up a bit," he told her.

"I know," she said happily. Jack lifted a brow.

"You're supposed to be sympathetic about that."

"I know."

Muttering something, Jack just nuzzled his face into her hair some more and gave her head a kiss.

"Movie night still on?"

"Of course," Jack smiled. The two broke apart when they heard some loud footsteps clumping back into the room. It was Ratchet and it looked like he had a lot of work to do. Courageously, Miko strode over to him and tapped his leg. The medic looked down in annoyance.

"Hey Ratchet?" she asked.

"What?"

"Sorry about infecting the mainframe," she apologized. The red and white Autobot stared at her in disbelief. It was the first time he'd ever really heard her say that she was sorry to him.

"...just don't do it again."

-end of chapter-

Well there you go. Once I introduced Tarantulas people would not stop bugging me about making Jack and Miko Techno-Organics for whatever reason. Being the ever-determined...person in charge thing that I am I would not have that. When I do stories of things that aren't my own stuff I wanna keep the characters as normal as possible so they'd have a better chance of having the story fit into the show/book/comic/whatever. So instead me just decided on clones. Hope it turned out alright.


	11. Said the Spider to the Fly

Chapter 11: Said the Spider to the Fly

Pleasantly Jack hummed to himself. He always enjoyed morning showers. The water washing over his body, the steam filtering his breathing, the soothingness of it all. And it was even better when he had the house to himself such as with this particular morning. His mother had to go into work early and school was off for the day. So what better way to start it than having a little session in private? Of course due to the recent...enjoyments he'd been having it was a bit disappointing that he didn't have company. Still, peace was peace however he could take it. Jack certainly wasn't one to complain...at least not normally.

The curtain being thrown open? Now that was something to complain about as the ice cold air of the outside world froze across his body. The female Asian that performed the act?...now she was just a surprise to see. Blushing she looked down.

"Well hello to you too," Miko cooed with a sly smile. Jack blushed and pulled the curtain back over his body. "Hey, it's not something I haven't seen before," she told him with a wink. If steam could have come out Jack's ears it probably would've.

"No, but it's fucking cold without the curtain...wait, why are you here?" Jack suddenly realized what he should've been asking to begin with. Miko smacked her forehead.

"Oh right! We need to be at the base!" the girl told him, "Arcee's been yelling for over an hour before Bulkhead dropped me off to check on you she said."

"And why didn't I hear her?" Jack asked. Rolling her eyes, Miko reached in and, much to Jack's dismay, turned the water off. As the sound of the raining liquid lessened he could hear a sound that he thought had been part of the dripping becoming more prominent. Arcee's voice!

"Is he okay Miko!" she called. Miko gave the boy an accusing grin causing him to smile back innocently.

"But seriously?...over an hour?..." Miko repeated. Jack's mouth flattened.

"Mom was away so I wanted to have some alone time in here," Jack scoffed, "and are you telling me you wouldn't do it?"

"Course I would, just saying to let me in on that action next time we got the house to ourselves," Miko gave him a nudge in the ribs, "Now get dressed. We got a spy to weed out!"

* * *

Hastily Tarantulas flipped through the channels on his computer monitors. Over half of them were now filled with static! Ever since his operatives had stabbed him in the back, the Autobots had been finding and destroying most of his cameras! It was infuriating enough that the clones hadn't even bothered to do as they were told, but now the team of the Autobot he'd been trying to offline knew he was there! Angrily he slammed his fist on the computer console jolting one of the remaining channels to static. With a yell, the Predacon yanked the monitor out of its place on the table and threw it across the room, the container it hit exploding upon impact.

But what did he care? It was all for nothing anyhow! Optimus Prime was still alive and his agents were gone! The entire mission had been a complete failure!...well...not a complete one. There was still the information he'd been able to gather from the Autobots' database. Regardless of what he wanted, that would have to do. Besides, he still had one last precaution that he'd set in place in the chance that the team actually did find him. A bit more calm now, the Transformer slumped back in his chair and flipped on a screen of long pipes and corridors. Jasper Nevada's sewer system. Tarantulas chuckled to himself. He wasn't going down without a fight.

* * *

"Well I'm sorry Prime, but I need the monthly report tomorrow. You might be up to your heads with trouble right now, but I can't stop what the government orders," William Fowler told the leader of the Autobots through the monitor. Optimus Prime closed his eyes in anxiousness. There was no way he'd lose his cool over something so trivial. Even so, it still brought tension.

"I understand Agent Fowler," he told the human, "The report will be done by tomorrow. But please, if you'll excuse me I have other matters to attend to right now." Their human link nodded and shut off the communication.

"So what all is he shaking us up for this time?" Miko asked hopping out of the green car while Jack strolled up alongside it on his motorcycle. Free of their passengers, Arcee and Bulkhead morphed into robot-mode. "I told him it was an accident that I knocked over diamond," Miko reminded assuming she thought she knew what Fowler had called for, "Besides, the museum had like four." Bulkhead put a hand to his head and shook it.

"Certainly has your gracefulness," Arcee complimented. Bulkhead just grumbled incoherently in response.

"Fowler has nothing to do with any of you. He just desires some routine paperwork. Now then, as you know your clones pointed out that we have a spy here," Optimus Prime informed.

"They've been trying to find him, but it wasn't until they got me to help that we started picking out the cameras this Tarantulas guy had placed all over the base," Raf interrupted from the upper floor. Miko and Jack glanced up at the younger boy. As with whenever he was busy he had his computer unfolded in front of him, his fingers rapidly typing away on it. "And I do have some good news. After inputting all the coding from the cameras we've found so far I've triangulated the position of the signal they're transmitting from!"

"In English nerdenstein," Miko waved her hand slowly. Raf's face thinned a bit. He really did wish that he had smarter friends sometimes.

"We know his location," he stated plainly.

"Oh awesome! So let's go in there and kick his ass!" Miko exclaimed kicking the air as she talked, "I'm ready for everything and anything!"

"Of course you are..." Jack commented, "Just like how you were ready when theysecurity guard caught you when we were stealing that artifact once..." Shooting an icy look at him, Miko folded her arms over her chest.

"Just wasn't doin' my best," she grumbled, "Caught me off guard. Didn't think they'd have such quality in their security."

"Right..." the boy teasingly smiled. The two continued exchanging banter with each other until they heard Optimus Prime's voice speak about them.

"-which is why I regretfully must bring our human charges in on this," he finished a sentence causing Miko's ears to perk and Jack to look up curiously. Rarely did the Autobot leader ever let them in on something that he would consider all that dangerous, especially after viewing what kind of trouble the subject in question had caused recently. Eager for their own reasons, the human children approached the rest of the group.

"But Optimus, you can't be serious about sending the kids in to look for this madman!" Ratchet all too-willingly expressed his opinion. Prime closed his eyes.

"Old friend, if I had a choice you know I would keep them out of harm's way. But as it stands, our partners are the only ones small enough to fully traverse this human facility. And the smaller parts are undoubtedly where our assailant has made his headquarters..." Ratchet looked down at the children. Looking up at them, Miko and Jack saw a bit of a reserved atmosphere from each Autobot. None of them were all that comfortable about the matter.

"Can't we ask Fowler to send some troops over or something?" Arcee asked. Immediately Miko's eyes widened.

"Hell no!" she exclaimed directing all attention to herself. Her mouth shrunk nervously. "Er, I mean...you can trust us! We can take down a freaking Insecticon! We're ready!" Hesitantly she wrapped her arm around Jack's neck for support. After a few seconds of silence she squeezed him into a bit of a choke.

"Y-yeah, if things get bad we'll just pull back out," Jack gagged. Arcee glanced at Optimus. She knew it'd been futile to argue. She could tell by his eyes that his mind had been made up.

"As much as I dislike the notion, it stands to reason that Tarantulas has an interest in Jack and Miko. They would be the least likely to succumb to direct damage from the situation," Optimus reasoned. Arcee sighed.

"Then at least let me accompany them. I'm the only one that can fit through the corridors in any mode," the blue Cybertronian requested. Optimus nodded. Gleefully, Miko nuzzled her head into Jack's neck. They were going on an adventure!

* * *

"Lord Megatron!" Knockout's voice rang. The lord of the Decepticons cringed a bit at the pitch of the vocals. The doctor was happy...too happy. Ever since Megatron had agreed to let well enough alone with the suppressors Knockout had been in an unusually optimistic mood. Every day he'd report that he was getting another step closer to finding a real cure. But as far as Megatron could tell, what he had already was doing a rather decent job. But he wasn't a doctor. And he really didn't desire to put up with another lecture from the red Decepticon once more. Somehow his speeches bored him more than the old Cybertronian Councils' had!

"How are we feeling today?" Knockout inquired practically dancing into the Decepticon leader's quarters. Megatron's eye twitched.

"...health-wise I'm fine," he replied lowly. The sickening sweetness of Knockout's attitude seeped through his hands as he rubbed them together. Megatron pretty much felt like punching the troop right in the stomach. In fact, that wasn't a bad idea. A grin crossing the titan's face, he got to his feet and started walking to the medic.

"Well I have good news!" Knockout declared. Megatron didn't stop his trek. His goal filled him too much with joy. His expression drooping a bit, Knockout put a finger to the side of his head. "...fine! You can tell him!" Knockout grumbled kicking the ground. Reeling his arm back, Megatron wasn't prepared for the disgruntled medic to step to the side allowing the one that had actually discovered what he'd wanted to present to enter. Soundwave. Just before the large fist collided with his slender body, the silent Decepticon grabbed his leader's arm holding it centimeters from himself. Still feeling the sense of battle surging through him, the blindly enraged leader popped open the blade of his other arm and swung it at his loyal subject. But it was in vain. Soundwave already had his tentacles at his throat and effortlessly leaned out of the way of the cut. Megatron gave a few spasms before his mentality returned to normal. He'd felt it again! Like when he'd seen Optimus Prime that last time! The sense of destruction!

"...what the Pit was that all about?" Knockout wondered aloud. Seeing that the opponent was of no more of a threat, Soundwave lowered his leader to the ground allowing Megatron to shake off the restraining.

"I-I'm sorry," Megatron coughed, "Just felt the old days of the Coliseum come back...you still got it Soundwave." The sleek Decepticon bowed to the compliment. "Now...what is it you wish to show me?" Soundwave's faceplating flickered to a visual. A familiar visual. Megatron's eyes widened. "It's been found?" he gasped. Soundwave nodded. "I will personally see to it that-" one look at the questioning medic was all that Megatron needed to shift his thoughts a bit, "er...Soundwave...get a team prepared to start looking for it if you will..." Nodding, the tall Decepticon departed.

"That wasn't so hard now was it?" Knockout chuckled taking his leave as well. The twitching of Megatron's eye returned as he pulled out a Dark Energon crystal that he'd been hiding in his armor.

"More than you'd know..." he muttered taking a bite from it to relieve the stress that the medic brought.

* * *

The Asian girl leaned snuggly into her embrace of the boy from behind. Air swept past their bodies, but it was different than when they were outside. This air was much warmer and musky. A somewhat stale odor formed the wind around them. Every so often they'd have to duck to avoid hitting their heads on the upper frames of doorways. To Arcee it was an entirely new experience. She hadn't had to squeeze through such tight fits since when she did reconnaissance during the Great War or when she'd chase Airachnid underground. And she especially never had passengers during those ordeals.

Even with the extra baggage though, the smaller Cybertronian was swerving in and out of rooms like a professional. Up till the point they were at now they hadn't encountered much oppression. The only time Arcee had really lost her cool was when the first trap had been set off. After that she'd been pretty keenly on the lookout for anymore of the trip lasers that had set off the acidic chemical that'd been launched at them previously. Luckily the humans, or at least Jack who'd pulled Miko down, seemed to have the same reflexes as she did when the decomposing compound had been thrown. That was the main thing that Arcee was worried about. She didn't give to shits what happened to her as long as her partner was safe. She wasn't about to have another Cliffjumper on her hands!

"So Jack, what do ya think this Tarantulas guy's up too?" Miko asked giving him a bit of a squeeze. The boy's grip on the handles of the motorcycle tightened a bit in response.

"Probably just some Decepticon under orders from Megatron," he figured, "But has to be pretty small if he's not anywhere that Optimus and the others can find him."

"Hence why we're being sent in to kick ass and take names!" Miko chuckled.

"Don't you mean get your ass kicked so that Bulkhead can tease you about it later?" Jack smirked. Miko sent a glare at the back of his head.

"If you tell him that that really happens you're dead," she grumbled. Realizing what she'd said, her eyes shot open. "Uh, I mean what're you talking about! I'll pop that bot's head right off!" Jack was in a fit of laughter.

"Oh don't worry, I'll tell him exactly what goes down," Jack laughed receiving a punch to the shoulder in return.

"Well, he's got a witness," Arcee added. The bike jumped a bit at the kick it was given. Not one to let such rudeness go unrepaid, Arcee braked for a second sending the girl that was riding her gruffly into Jack's back, a motion that filled his cheeks with crimson. He could feel the firm softness of her chest swish slightly as Miko pulled herself back a bit.

"Alright, stupid to mess with the thing you're riding," Miko admitted, "...hey...I just thought of something...if that spy guy has cameras all around then couldn't we have just told him what we were doing back in the lobby if he was watching us?" Jack's eyes widened. Miko was actually having a rare moment of using intelligence...and it wasn't a good thought...

"Relax," Raf's voice told them through Arcee's controls, "The lobby's the first place I scanned over. Made sure that everything this guy could've snuck in here was gotten rid of! The only real places I couldn't sift through were those halls you guys are in since some of them go on quite a ways unless you have a ride."

"That's a comforting thought..." Jack murmured. The rest of the ride was rather quiet compared to how talkative the two humans normally were with each other. They felt like endless halls of eyes were watching them. Monitoring their every move. Daring them to try something stupid, which normally Miko wouldn't be all that unfamiliar with. But under the circumstances that kind of action couldn't be allowed. It wasn't their attitudes that would be the problem however. As they entered into a new corridor the trio heard quite the high-pitched beeping. Her heart pounding a bit, Miko looked back and noticed the laser system at the floor that Arcee had driven through.

"Guys!" she yelped.

"Both of you off! No-ooowww!" Arcee's voice faded in the corridor as it lit up around them. Time seemed to move in slow motion. The walls and ceiling cracked and fragmented towards the occupants. Fire and smoke billowed through the collapsing passageway. Jack could see Arcee unfolding into her robot-mode from the sudden explosion. With a thud, the boy and girl hit the ground. Jack crawled over to try and see how Miko was when a slab of the ceiling fell on his back pinning him to the ground. Coughing up a bit of blood, Miko stumbled over to help the boy out of the mess when she felt something tug at her shirt. It took a few more tugs to finally distract her from the rescue operation. Looking up she could see a few strands of some sticky substance latching onto her clothing from a hole in the ceiling. When she realized what it was though, it was too late. With a scream the web yanked her up into the hole and out of sight.

"MIKO!" Jack cried.

* * *

"Prime!" a loud voice hollered. All the Autobots of the lobby looked to the open doors. Standing there was the government agent: William Fowler. His posture had faltered a bit due to all the unexpected stares he received. He was used to Optimus and maybe Ratchet eyeing him when he entered, but not usually such a large group at once. "Uh...hey..." he waved nervously from where he'd entered, "...what's up?..." Raf smiled and shook his head. The man really did act like a kid sometimes.

"We are currently in the process of weeding out a spy," Optimus Prime told him. Fowler's eyebrows wobbled around.

"A spy?" he exclaimed, "Why didn't anyone tell me!" Ratchet put a hand to his forehead. If there was one thing that they didn't need right now it was more human commotion than Miko alone would cause. "I coulda called in a SWAT team or some old buddies from back in the War Effort or-"

"Agent Fowler. Please pardon the decision, but that is the reason that we did not alert you," Optimus Prime told him. All at once the dark man's spirits dropped. He hated when he was left out of the loop on something, and even more when, what would normally be what people wanted the most from his line of work, rejected. "Due to the circumstances we've found it best to simply send Miko and Jack to search for the-"

"Hold the phone, you sent a boy and girl to hunt down this spy?" Fowler's jaw dropped, "...a boy and...a Miko?..." Ratchet's expression became doubtful. He'd have been lying if he were to say that Fowler's suspicions were without reason. "At least let me get some of the Pentagon folk to-"

"Agent Fowler, we have it under control," Optimus Prime assured him. Meanwhile, Raf's brows were furrowing. Once that loud static had sounded the line had just gone dead.

"Guys?...hello?...anyone yet?..." Raf asked the communications device he had hooked into his computer.

"...af...R-raf?..." a male voice coughed back disjointedly. His eyes going wide, Raf began typing various things into the computer.

"Jack!" he yelped, "What happened? Are you guys-"

"That thing got Miko!" he yelled back, "pulled her up through the ceiling!"

"WHAT!" Bulkhead and Fowler exclaimed. Ratchet's hand tightened on his head. "That's it!" the green giant yelled as he took a step towards the hallway Jack and Miko had disappeared down, "I'm going after-"

"How?" Ratchet asked. Bulkhead looked down at the small hole that the humans called a doorway then trailed his line of vision to his feet. Angrily he slammed his fist on the ground.

"SCRAP!" he yelled.

"Don't worry!" Jack's voice hacked. An engine could be heard near him. "We're going to find her! Promise!" While Ratchet attempted to keep Bulkhead from unnecessarily tearing up any more of the base than he already had, Fowler was making his way to another door. He may not have been made of metal, but he knew that he had the most training out of any of the humans. And whether the Autobots wanted it or not he was going to help.

* * *

Miko's head was swimming. The last thing she could remember clearly was the look on Jack's face as she was pulled upwards...and then...nothing. Her strength returning a bit, Miko began to wriggle around, her body testing its limbs. Having confirmation that she was still alive, the girl creaked her eyes open. The vision was blurry, but it was enough to be able to see. All around her lights burned into her line of sight in the distance. Dead ahead was someone hunched over in a chair quickly clacking away at a keyboard. Whoever it was could've given Raf a good run for his money when it came to technical support from the sound of it.

After another strained attempt to move, Miko looked to her right. Her vision was returning. She could now see what was holding her to the wall. The same web-like substance that had yanked her up was now her prison, like a fly in a spider's trap. She pulled again and fell back with a heaving chest. Her face was sweating. The action didn't go unnoticed. Soon a shadow fell over her weak body causing her to look up. The person that had been at the computer wasn't a person at all. It was a Transformer. One that she'd seen before...back at the ancient laboratory that the Autobots had investigated.

"Oh...Tarantulas...I get it now..." her voice slurred lazily. The small Transformer gave a bit of a scoff and lifted a claw to the underside of her chin. "So...ready to get your ass kicked?..." she chuckled. Tarantulas blinked and let out a short laugh.

"Oh why yes, please proceed," he played along. Miko struggled a few times while her mouth tried to bite at him. Tarantulas just remained standing in front of her, amusement filling his Spark. Eventually, the girl fell back into the suspension panting. "That all you got?" he antagonized. Lifting an eyebrow, Miko lifted her head and spat at him. Tarantulas eyed the dribble of saliva trickling down his cheek for a moment.

"GYAH!" Miko cried as his fist slammed into her cheek.

"I'm sorry, I don't quite think I heard your response..." Tarantulas muttered. Ignoring the pain, Miko grinned up at him.

"You just wait till my buddies get here..." she told him, "They'll-"

"They'll do nothing if I got you," Tarantulas finished, "Tis' the folly of "good guys". Threaten something they hold dear and they'll do whatever it takes to get them back. By the time you're in their grasp their hands'll be cold and lifeless and I'll be laughing like this!" Egotistically, the small Transformer let loose one of the most insane spouts of joy that Miko had ever heard in her life. He obviously was not a mentally stable Transformer. "Which brings me to you...what should I do with you once this all blows over?...have you impregnated with Anglemois? Feast on your still-living body? Or maybe I can dump you in acid and have you take on a clown-like persona..."

"You know about the Joker?" Miko's jaw dropped. Tarantulas swerved his brows.

"Kid, I've been through multiple universes. I think I'd know one of the greatest villains of all time," he replied. Miko was going to continue questioning the bug when he strolled back over to the computers. A second later his hands were in the air waving around furiously.

"Those pieces of slag!" Tarantulas hissed smashing his fist into the console, "They've already gotten past the final defenses!" Miko grinned.

"That's whatcha get when you try to down Arcee," she sang, "Cyber ninja bitch is gonna lay the smack down on you." Tarantulas' optic twitched.

"You shut your mouth!" he griwked, "Now...let's see...just need to program the flamethrowers too..." Miko's eyes lit up. He needed to get things in place still...meaning it was up to her to save them! The perfect mission for the perfect distracter!

"So...you listen to Slash Monkey?" she asked, "Of course you know if that's not your style I understand. Staying cooped up in these labs all day will do that to a bot I'm sure-"

"I said quiet!" Tarantulas barked.

"And what if I don't want to?" Miko shot back, "I mean I am a teenage girl. It's what I do. Now I was thinking maybe more along the lines of some jazz for you. I know a good place in town that can-"

"I...SAID...SHUT...UP!" Tarantulas roared taking a step towards her with each word until their faces were pressed together. The alarm that sounded retreated him back to the computer. "What! NO! They can't have...you just distracted...NO!"

"And it's all thanks to my big mouth," Miko boasted. Furious, Tarantulas pulled some sort of firearm out of the drawer next to him and began charging it.

"Yeah...definitely the Joker if you survive this..." he muttered. The shots that were fired though weren't his. Shaking, Tarantulas turned around to see the human girl free of her restraints and the female Autobot that released her crouched over in his doorway. Immediately Jack ran over and hugged Miko. Anger burning beneath her face, Arcee switched her targetting reticle to the purple Transformer. The guns were still smoking.

"WAIT!" Tarantulas held up a hand. In it was a button, "Unless you want more human casualties than you've ever had on your hands, you are going to back away! I've rigged the entire sewer system of Jasper with explosives! One press of this button and say buhbye to your friends' town!" A pang of hesitation hit Arcee. She didn't know what to do! Her target was right there...but if she tried anything...she couldn't... Reluctantly, the Cybertronian pocketed her weapons. Jack and Miko held each other in fright. There was no longer any doubt in Miko's mind that there was anything resembling sanity in the monster that was threatening them.

"So, that thing can level the town?" a new voice asked. Arcee, Miko, and Jack all looked behind Tarantulas in surprise.

"Why yes it...uh..." Uneasily, Tarantulas turned around. Before he could react, Agent Fowler had punched him clear in the jaw sending the device sailing to the ground next to him.

"Oh!...by Unicron, what the slag is your hand made of!" Tarantulas howled as he rolled around.

"Enough to take you down apparently," the human smirked kicking the button away from him. Grumbling in pain and misery, the Transformer flipped into its spider-mode and lifted its remaining legs up revealing a set of wheels.

"But not out!" Tarantulas yelled. Despite Arcee's quick shooting, the Predacon swerved out of the room and down the hall. He was headed the way that Fowler had come! Having had more time to become accustomed to the halls than Arcee had, he was in the main lobby within minutes.

"You are scrap!" Bulkhead yelled at the intruder. The only thing that the giant Autobot managed was toppling Tarantulas out of his beast-mode from the punch he barely missed him with. Shaking off the impact, the smaller Transformer climbed up the computer console that Ratchet normally worked at and began typing in things...coordinates. Arcee screeched into the open just as the Ground Bridge opened up.

"Till all are gone!" Tarantulas declared and ran into the portal. Bulkhead and Arcee began to take chase once Miko and Jack were off when the the medic interrupted.

"STOP!" Ratchet ordered. The vehicles braked painfully.

"What gives doc-bot?" Bulkhead growled, "We gotta go after him!" To their shock the Ground Bridge disappeared. Arcee and Bulkhead morphed back into robot-mode while Fowler came into the room panting. He needed to start going to the gym more often.

"No you don't. The coordinates he set were for a place you guys shouldn't ever have to go back to," Ratchet told them. Arcee and Bulkhead gave each other confused looks.

"Where did the spy evacuate to old friend?" Optimus Prime inquired. Ratchet closed his eyes.

"...Unicron."

-end of chapter-

Well this chapter took a while. More of an active one this time. More being revealed about Tarantulas. More being hinted at with Megatron. More mystery everywhere.

Honestly this fic would've probably ended by now had it not gotten the surprising amount of feedback that it did. Glad to amuse you all.

Here be epic Fowler: warahi(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Human-Interference-306444852


	12. A Glimmer of Hope

Chapter 12: A Glimmer of Hope

"My loyal Decepticons!" Megatron called throwing his arm out over the audience that had assembled, "Today is a turning point! This marks the day in Decepticon history where we finally gain that which shall crush all opposition! The ancient relic long thought forgot throughout our race! That which the Moonbase foretold and that I shall use to take over this world and revive ours! The Mini-con Matrix!" The declaration sent a murmur through the crowd. Deccepticons everywhere were wondering if it was really true or if their leader had just lost his mind.

"Always has to be theatrical," Knockout rolled his eyes. After a few minutes the room began to quiet back to a manageable level.

"All Decepticons desiring to help, please meet at the Dispatch Room shortly," Megatron ordered. He glared at the hand that raised. "Yes Knockout?..."

"Pardon me Lord Megatron, but uh...who exactly will be leading the mission?" the red Decepticon asked. Megatron's eye twitched.

"That would be me," he replied putting a hand on his chest, "Any problem with that?"

"Well uh yes...you see if you lead this, especially as important a mission as you're making this out to be, your condition coul-" Knockout's voice was silenced by a laser beam that was blasted between his legs. Wide-eyed, the medic looked up at his leader.

"My condition is fine," Megatron muttered, "Any one else have a problem with it?" Looking around the room, all the other Cybertronians were motionless and silent. "Good...all wanting to come, please report to the Dispatch Room." His footsteps echoing, Megatron departed from the quiet room, a shade of purple swimming across his optics.

* * *

"Mom away for the weekend, mom away for the weekend!" Miko sang as she giddily rubbed her face into Jack's back. The boy couldn't help but smile. No longer did he have the embarrassment that came with such actions. Now the only reason he blushed was from the affection he was given. "And you know what that means! Y!" Miko squealed. Jack's eyes went up to his head from the squeeze he was given. Had it been the first time she told him that, he would've made mention of the fact that parties weren't allowed at his place. Now of course he knew just what she actually meant. A private party, just the two of them. And he loved it each time.

"Just keep it down a bit this time," Arcee grumbled from the front of the motorcycle, "Still trying to get last time's session out of my processor. A girl needs her power-down cycles." Jack and Miko shared a sympathetic smile.

"Well...you could always just hang out at base until one of us calls or you need to pick us up," Jack suggested.

"...you know, that's actually not a bad idea," Arcee agreed, "Thanks partner. Glad I got the sensible human to work with."

"HEY!" Miko yelled causing the other two to break out in laughter. Muttering something under her breath, the girl glared at the bike. "Well at least I got the strongest of you bots," she retorted, "can bash your head in any day!"

"Oh I doubt that," Arcee told her calmly, "A few well placed kicks and he's going down like a house on demolition day." Miko lifted her eyebrow.

"Oh yeah right," she scoffed.

"Yeah, I am right," Arcee mocked.

"Well Jack knows I'm right. Agree with me, I'm your bed buddy," Miko ordered nuzzling her face into the side of his neck. Jack's face reddened quite a bit.

"And he knows I'm right, right Jack?" Arcee pressured. The boy gulped. He tried to speak but couldn't think of any words. He had never had two females, of any sort, pitting him against each other.

"Bed Buddy..." Miko cooed.

"Partner..." Arcee reminded. Jack bit his lower lip. Luckily for him they were coming up on the perfect distraction.

"Oh look the base!" he laughed nervously pointing towards Autobot Outpost Omega One. Arcee just rolled on through the hidden entrance all the while exchanging silent berating notions with the human girl. Even once Miko had gotten off they gave each other distasteful looks. "Alright!" Jack said eagerly bringing his hands together while his eyes scanned the lobby. He was determined to keep away from the previous argument as much as possible. "What're we up to today?" Spotting Raf, the older boy walked over to him and sat down on the step he was on. As per usual he was at his computer. Miko meanwhile ran over to Bulkhead who had just entered.

"Bulky boy! Bashin' any cons today?" Miko grinned punching the air as she talked. Bulkhead chuckled and bent down. Miko's face lit up at the hand that opened. Inside was a diamond the size of her head! "HOLY HELL!" she exclaimed, "Where'd you-"

"Found an old Energon Mine deep beneath the Earth last night. Thought you'd like a souvenir," he explained.

"You know it!" she told him gleefully. Using all the strength she could muster, the Asian girl tried taking the large mineral deposit, but after a few seconds it just fell back into Bulkhead's hand. She smiled sheepishly up at the big Autobot who shook his head. "Hey! I'm strong enough, just...don't wanna use all my energy," Miko made up an excuse.

"Right," Bulkhead nodded slowly, "Just like you didn't wanna use all your energy to get out of that cave-in we had that one time."

"You seemed to be holding it up pretty nicely," she shrugged intent on not letting her partner win, "...speaking of strength...Arcee says she could beat you." Miko smirked at the surprised face Bulkhead gave her.

"Is that so?" the towering Cybertronian murmured. The smirk spread into a grin.

"Yep," Miko chirped, "Says she could kick your ass to Monday and back." Bulkhead eyed the female Cybertronian warily. Not that he wouldn't put it past her to make such a claim if she was competing for something, but it did seem...a touch out of character.

"Guess we'll have to see about that," he figured standing up. Miko began to hop up and down a bit in anticipation as her partner started walking towards Jack's. "Hey Arcee. Heard that you said you could beat me-"

"GOT IT!" Raf's voice suddenly announced. Everyone's eyes darted to him. Ratchet made a call through his intercom summoning Optimus into the room.

"What's up?" Jack asked the boy he was sitting next to. Raf didn't turn his attention away from his work.

"Well, ever since you guys got rid of that Tarantulas bot, I've been trying to decode all of the information in what was left of his computers," Raf told him and Miko who'd just walked up next to him. The Autobots seemed fully aware of what all was going on. Ever since Jack and Miko had gotten together Raf had been spending a lot more time around their Cybertronian friends. "Mainly I was searching for what all he was up to, who exactly he was. And well...I got it all from what I can tell now."

"Then may you please share it with the rest of us Rafael?" Optimus Prime asked. The young boy nodded and clicked around on his mouse pad a few times to open the files he'd accumulated. The rest of the group waited anxiously. Even Fowler had appeared along the rim of the room. After clearing his throat, the youngest member began.

"His name is, as you all probably know by now Tarantulas," Raf told them, "and he's...not from this universe." The atmosphere of the room became quite alarmed by the information.

"You sure he isn't just crazy?" Miko asked, "Cause he seemed pretty much off his rocker to me."

"At first yeah, I thought he was just flat-out insane," Raf acknowledged, "But after reading further...well...it's a bit...scary if he's this insane AND this detailed about what he believes to be true."

"Well he is scary," Miko told him.

"Miko, please stop interrupting, we need to hear just what this is all about," Ratchet interrupted. Miko was about to say something back when a hand gave her shoulder a squeeze. Growling, she fell back into Jack's arm, her's folded over her chest.

"Anyhow..." Raf continued, "This guy was trying to collect information about what had been happening in our universe and was trying to kill Optimus. Where he came from he had hitched a ride from his universe's Megatron through time to prehistoric Earth where their ancestors, The Decepticons, with the ancestors of the Maximals, The Autobots, had crash landed and were in stasis lock until they awoke in modern times to continue the Great War. Tarantulas wasn't on Megatron's side though. He was only helping him so that this Predacon Megatron would ultimately destroy either the ancestors of the humans that'd help the Autobots in the future or Optimus Prime and undo the Autobots eventually beating the Decepticons.

"With Optimus out of the way, Tarantulas' true leader, Unicron, would have nothing to stop him since the Matrix of Leadership would be lost from the events leaving the Dark God to destroy the rest of that reality unopposed. After that failed, Tarantulas was eventually destroyed, and indirectly ressurected more powerfully, from alien creatures known as The Vok who served The One, that which created Unicron and Primus. He seemed to have an unruly hatred for those creatures. Either way, he then joined Unicron in a multiversal war that the Dark God started to feed off the energies given off by the combatants he'd taken from across time and space. Even this though would fail and Unicron would be left in ruins.

"It seems that after all that Tarantulas eventually ended up in our universe and was working with some other characters on Unicron's drifting ancient body before it became Earth. He'd set up a lab on Unicron's massive form and had things in place to ensure that Unicron would win when he would inevitably do battle with his brother's forces again. What he didn't seem to expect was that Unicron would become Earth in this universe. He was completely surprised when he saw two humans in his lab...but...that's pretty much it. He created the clones of Miko and Jack to more easily destroy Optimus since he wouldn't suspect them to attack him."

Once the narration ended the room became completely silent. No one had any idea beforehand that such a story was going to be told. Had they not seen the creature himself and had knowledge that Unicron did actually exist they might have simply written it off as just a madman rambling on. But as things stood the threat seemed very real...too real. The maniac had been trying to destroy Optimus...destroy their universe! In light of their later adventures, the group had no doubt in their minds that should Optimus Prime fall, everything else probably would soon after. And yet...it was so...incredible.

"Alright...so we got some lunatic trying to destroy life as we know it, I got that," Fowler was the first to speak, "But...what now? We chased him outta here. So...do we win?..."

"He evacuated to Unicron," Ratchet sighed, "I highly doubt we've seen the last of-" Just then an alarm went off. The discussion would have to wait. With the information currently dismissed, the group congregated to Ratchet's console.

"It appears as though the Decepticons have started up activities in Lincoln, Nebraska," Ratchet read, "It's at some caves on the outskirts of a town...and it looks like it's a sizable operation."

"Autobots," Optimus Prime said as the Ground Bridge started up, "Transform and Roll Out!"

* * *

"So...sneaking onboard again I see," Jack's voice murmured quietly. Miko's cheeks heated up from the arms that wrapped around her throat.

"Oh no, you caught me..." she giggled back. Playfully she tilted her head up to see the boy leaning over the top of her seat, "Whatever shall I do?"

"Bribing's always nice," Jack told her. Miko's eyelids slid down a bit.

"See, you have the nerve to flirt more nowadays. You're getting better," she said lifting herself up to his height a bit, "And I've been getting pretty wanting all week..."

"Well we have all night..." Jack whispered, his lips rubbing against her's as he talked, "...AFTER I get you back to base. We already had an adventure with that Tarantulas freak. Don't need another one too fast." Miko's blush intensified while her face scrunched a bit in annoyance. In the midst of the intimacy, Jack had grabbed her wrist and didn't seem intent on letting go any time soon.

"I would've gotten away with it too," Miko whispered, their faces still quite a bit close, "If it hadn't been for one tempting boy."

"They don't call it temptation for nothing," he smiled back. Giving just as happy an expression, Miko pressed her lips up to his. The two continued the kiss for a few seconds, just enough to get a real taste of each other. "Now then," Jack said through the friction of their mouths, "Let's get back to base..."

"Sure we can't stay just a bit longer?" Miko persisted nuzzling her nose against his. Jack closed his eyes, his smile returning. The girl's eyes lowered a bit, but didn't fully shut. In the heat of the motions the boy had little hold over the limb allowing the girl to yank her wrist back to her side. Jack opened his eyes just in time to see her wink at him and open Bumblebee's door. Knowing that the Autobot would slow down from the surprise of his body part unfolding, Miko rolled out of the car soon followed by the boy that had snuck in with her. Giving another wink to him, Miko took off towards a nearby collection of large rocks.

"Jack?" Arcee exclaimed in shock.

"Keep going!" her partner waved to her, "I'll get Miko! You guys got cons to stop!" Arcee hesitated for a second, but ultimately agreed to the plan and sped off to catch up with the others. She really was lucky to have Jack as a partner. With him she knew full well that'd he'd go through with his promises, his sense of responsibility overriding all other parts of his mentality. He truly was the leader of the humans in the group.

Jack could feel his muscles tighten in his run. One way or another, Miko had gotten faster the last few times he'd had to chase her back to base. How she had increased such capabilities Jack had no idea. The only exercise he ever saw her get was in his room. Still, he couldn't deny the thrill of the chase. No matter how much he might wish against it, it certainly brought a sense of fun to the otherwise dull time that would enrapture them back in their lounge area at the base. Panting a bit, the boy grabbed hold of a rock and swung around the corner that Miko had stolen behind. What was behind it, he was not at all prepared for. With no warning what-so-ever, Miko pulled him into a hug and pinned him to the ground under her.

"So you giving up for once?" Jack asked. Miko smirked.

"You're really asking that in your position?" she giggled placing a kiss on his lips causing him to blush. "I just took you down cause there's no need to run anymore this time." Jack lifted his brow at her curiously.

"And what do you mean by that?" he asked. Jack followed Miko's eyes as they went to her head. Just ahead of them was a group of Decepticons! And leading them was none other than Megatron himself! Jack felt his heart skip a beat. His nerve's shot, the boy tackled the girl out of sight of where the Decepticons could see and slapped his hand over her mouth.

"Darby, your mom's not here. We can be as loud as we want," Miko teased through her restraints. Jack's brows furrowed while the glow of his cheeks returned.

"You are insane," he muttered. Miko wiggled her eyebrows.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," she mused. Jack pinched his forehead. Yeah, it'd be pretty noisy that night.

"Miko, focus. One of those cons could've seen you and-"

"Blasted me to atoms," Miko finished, "Blah blah blah. Look, I found em for you. You should thank me." Jack puffed an irritated stream out air out of his nose. "And also got a glimpse of what they were after...some small triangle thingy." His curiosity getting the better of him, Jack peeked his head up over the rock they were hiding behind. Miko eagerly popped her head out as well. She hadn't been lying. Knockout was currently crouched over the object in question with his optics on his leader. He seemed uneasy. What surprised Jack though was the size of the thing. It looked like it was small enough for a human to carry!

"So...what's the plan?" Miko rubbed her hands together eagerly. Jack sighed and rolled his eyes. Firmly he grabbed her arm, determined not to let go this time.

"The plan," he told her, "Is to get you back to-"

"Ah, Megatron. So nice of you to unearth a relic for more," a hissing voice uttered. Everyone looked up. Starscream landed right in front of the titanic Decepticon leader. Rage overtaking his nature, Megatron let out a roar and slashed at the Seeker. With a grin, Starscream morphed into vehicle-mode and Megatron took chase after him. The moment that he left, the Autobots leapt into action and began firing. Knockout struggled to control his group.

"...alright, change of plans. Let's grab that thing!" Jack gave in from the unexpected change of events. Miko could hardly contain herself as they darted for the object. The remaining Decepticons were completely distracted! Didn't mean it was entirely safe of course. In the first minute Jack had to pull Miko out of the way of one of the Vehicons that Arcee had shot. "And you were saying Bulkhead could-" the boy was interrupted by a con that fell over in front of them, the imprint of Bulkhead's wrecking ball in its faceplates. Jack glared at the grinning Miko. "Not a word."

While the humans continued their trek to the artifact, the Autobots kept up the fight. It wasn't until Optimus peered past his opponent that he noticed the humans had hijacked a ride and were in the process of obtaining what the Decepticons were after. It didn't take long for him to get word around through the others' com-links about the position that Jack and Miko were now in. Once the others had realized the situation their fighting increased ten-fold, determined not to let a single Decepticon notice the intruders. And the effort was going just fine until they noticed a jet soaring at them.

"Starscream?" Bulkhead put a hand over his brow to make sure he was seeing the vehicle correctly. Unfortunately for them it was the traitorous Cybertronian. The unfortunate part was what was following him. Having had enough of the dog-fight, Starscream had led Megatron straight back to his team after seeing that Optimus' had showed up in hopes that they might buy him the time he needed. Taking notice of the Autobots, the Decepticon leader morphed into robot-mode and fell to the ground in front of them. Optimus lifted his guns to the silver Cybertronian as he stood up in front of him. One look at his enemy was all it took for the purple glow to surge through Megatron's eyes.

"GYAH!" he cried clutching his head. All the Transformers eyed the titanic Decepticon in confusion and caution. Knockout put a hand to his mouth. He knew that Megatron shouldn't have gone on the mission! "Die follower of Primus!" a dark voice hissed from Megatron's mouth. Furious, he launched himself into Optimus Prime, sword slashing at his face. The Autobot leader blocked it just as it was about to touch his optic. In that split second Optimus could see the vileness seeping through Megatron's vision, the pure unrelenting chaos.

"Old friend," he whispered to the Decepticon leader, "What is wrong with you?" Letting out a roar, Megatron yanked his arm back and used the cannon of his other to bash against Optimus' face sending him toppling to the ground. Knowing that such a possession would not let up on the offense, Optimus whirled back around popping out his blades and slashed into Megatron's as he brought it down. For a few seconds they held the stalemate, their weapons grinding against each other. But Optimus' arm wouldn't last for much longer. A few more moments and the blade would slice right over the edge of his. Luckily for him, that was all the time his team needed to make their shots on the Decepticon. It didn't cease his assault of course, but it did startle him enough for Optimus to give him a well-deserved kick to the stomach.

"Today...you die...Prime..." the voice growled. By the time Megatron had shaken off the attack Optimus was on his feet again, and his fist at his cheek. Jack and Miko had been so preoccupied watching the epic confrontation that they had almost forgotten what they were trying to do...almost. Forcing his eyes away from the action, Jack brought his focus back to the small triangle. With all the strength he could muster he pulled encouraging the same action from Miko. It came loose with the combined effort almost the instant they started. The Decepticons had pretty much finished digging it up. With the object in hand, Jack pulled Miko over to their previous hiding spot and waved to the Autobots. Giving a nod back, Optimus Prime pulled Megatron's cannon out of the path of his face and used a good amount of energy to knock the titan flat on his back. Optimus signaled the other Autobots before morphing into vehicle-mode and speeding off. Bulkhead pulled up alongside the rock and popped open his door while the Ground Bridge opened up ahead of them. Quickly, Jack and Miko hopped in.

"No matter what I say later, good job," Jack told her. Miko blushed and smiled. Megatron's eye twitched as the portal closed.

"Where's the thing they were digging up!" Starscream exclaimed finally having made his way over to the now-empty mound that the Decepticons had been trying to unearth. Megatron began to get up. At least he'd have something to take his anger out on.

* * *

The purple Transformer's visor lit up. The connection had been dropped. All the hate and rage and spite that had so vividly been influencing the host was laid back to dormancy once more. But it'd been there, more prominent than ever. It would only be a matter of time before it was in complete orchestration of the large host's actions. And with how much unhealthy negativity the host already possessed, it would only take that much quicker. Still...a Prime was right there...Optimus Prime. The one that mattered, and again he'd slipped through death's cold fingers like it was nothing. If there was one thing Sideways disliked more than people figuring out that he was a spy, it was losing a chance to kill Optimus. Delicately he rubbed his chest-plating.

"Old wounds eh?" Tarantulas chuckled as he lowered into the room. He could sense the anger towards him.

"Not like you did much better," Sideways shot back, "As always I'm having to clean up your dirty work..." Tarantulas just grumbled.

"Yeah, but I least I don't get shot by Requiem Blasters," he chided. Sideway's clenched fist shook a bit.

* * *

"We soooo punked them!" Miko squirmed in her seat. Jack wobbled around a bit as she clung to his neck and rubbed her head into it. "It must've been all like "Hey they're gone! Time to get back to-huzawha!"" the Asian girl ended in a dramatic gasp. Jack could hear Raf chuckling from the front of the car. Miko certainly did provide a casualness that neither boy could manage. Ah the joys of being a social-awkward youth that didn't have the nerve to embarrass themselves. "And did you see that wrecking-ball-print the Bulkmiester left? So much more kickass than that puny little hole Arcee gave her's!" Jack cocked a brow at the last part of the claim.

"At least she keeps things quiet and efficient rather than just going in all gung-ho and alerting everyone that she's there," Jack defended. His head bobbed up and down from the Miko's laughter.

"Who wants that in a bot?" she chuckled, "I mean "Oh hey Bulky. You're a huge ass robot. Instead of wrecking things as loud as possible, how's about we see how quiet you can be with as little destruction as you can do?". Yeah, that's totally what people go for." The girl wiggled her eyebrows at him ant antagonizingly.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but that coolness factor sorta goes out the window when trying to keep your focus on the mission," Jack scoffed, "Which is precisely what Arcee knows how to do."

"AKA: be boring as fuck," Miko drolled. Jack sighed in annoyance. If there was one thing the girl knew how to do, it was press his buttons.

"Better than being a walking trashcan that everyone sees coming from a mile away," he jabbed back without really thinking about it. Had he known the kind of glare he received, his mood might have lifted a bit. Instead, he was doomed to witness the change in atmosphere unexpectedly.

"At least he's not some Cyber Slut that backtalks your girl all the time!" Miko grumbled. Jack's eyes widened a bit, partly due to surprise and partly due to the words against his partner.

"You're just mad cause Arcee's better than Bulkhead," Jack replied in just as distasteful a voice as Miko had given him. The declaration caused the girl to gasp.

"Like hell he is! Bulkhead's way better!" she yelped back.

"You have a funny way of saying Arcee," Jack quipped. Miko's glare intensified.

"Bulkhead..."

"Arcee..."

"Bulkhead!"

"Arcee!"

The two were practically at each other's throats when the boy in the front of the car burst out laughing at the whirring sounds that his partner was making through the radio. Interrupted by the sudden sound of the new voice, Jack and Miko peered into the driver's seat.

"You are totally right," Raf told Bumblebee.

"Right about what?" Miko murmured. Raf's eyes shot open. Slowly he turned to look at the two older humans peeking out at him and waved uneasily. "He better be rooting for Bulkhead..." Raf bit his lip.

"Uh...well it wasn't exactly about them..." he gulped, his eyes shifting between the boy and girl every few seconds. Miko thought while Jack blushed a bit.

"Oh you little sports-car wannabe! You think you can take Bulky down?" Miko laughed. Raf cringed at some of the noises that the car made in response. "You just keep dreamin' Bee baby," the Asian female chuckled falling back into her seat, her spirits thoroughly lifted from the prior conflict. Deciding it best to be there to protect her from anything the car might try for revenge, Jack joined her.

"I just don't see why you guys are at it about that whole competing thing," Raf voiced his opinion finally, "I mean I wanna know more about that thingy that you guys brought back. Ratchet was going optic over stabilizer when he spotted it!"

"Oh I know! I got that on camera!" Miko giggled playing the scene in question for added effect, "We could probably just tape him all day long and get better stuff than you'd see on TV." The girl let out a shrill laugh as the medic in the device tripped over a large cylinder in his path to get a better look of the object. Jack just shook his head. Sometimes he wondered if there was any hope for the girl.

"Well, hope you guys have a good weekend," Raf told them, slightly happy to have the car to himself with how much of a commotion Miko could cause. Bumblebee was obviously happy as well with the bounce he gave Miko's seat practically tossing her out onto the grass in front of Jack's house. Jack had to clamp his hand over her mouth to keep the obscenities she shouted at the vehicle to a minimum as it drove off. After a final spasm of anger from the girl, Jack managed to walk her to the door and into the house.

"Relax, we have the whole weekend ahead of us," he reminded as it closed. Like the flip of a coin Miko's face sprang to life.

"Oh yeah, and that means makeup time for the argument back in the car!" she realized. Happily she hopped down the hall to Jack's room. "I pick out the movie tonight!" she sang. Jack's shoulders slouched a bit with ease. Once Miko had disappeared into the room, he started to the door as well. "Makeup time!" she exclaimed yanking him in the moment he entered her sight. With a slam the door shut and locked, her shirt flying out of the slit between it and the wall just before it closed.

-end of chapter-

And so for those that didn't watch Beast Wars or anything, there's your history lesson for Tarantulas. As for the object the Decepticons were unearthing, you got know more than just your average TF knowledge to have heard of it. But at least Miko's happy about how things ended up.

Car drive! art/Caught-Ya-307120559


	13. In flagrante delicto

Chapter 13: In flagrante delicto

June walked as quietly as she could through her darkened house, a smile across her face. It wasn't often that work would get done early, especially not a few days early when it took more than one. But when it did happen every once in a blue moon, the only sound that could be heard from the staff was them clambering to get out of the hospital. It was always a relief to get home to her nice peaceful abode, especially when the moon was still high in the sky. Most weeknights she was there able to get the desired amount of sleep, but sometimes on the weekends there was just so much work to do, especially with taking care of the work that temporary nurses left for her.

That out of the way though, she needed to be home. Even if Jack was the most trust-worthy child she could ever have the pleasure of raising, it just felt right to be there for her son, especially in his maturing years. It was sad to say that once his father was out of the picture she was the main source of income for them. That meant less time to be spent with him...to her he was the world. But it needed to be done. For him. To ensure that he have the best future she could provide for him. It was the endless cycle of parents wanting more for their offspring.

Simply to liven her mentality, June decided to peek into her son's room. With how he talked about things it was highly unlikely that Miko and him would've canceled their little movie night. And since the girl wasn't on the couch she must've fallen asleep watching a flick with him again. Even if she wasn't the most...appealing female ever, the little Asian always was cute curled up next to the boy. Though she'd be ashamed to admit it, the woman had thought over quite a few times what it'd be like to have such a daughter-in-law. But that notion was usually shaken out of her head the moment after it'd formed. It was just humorous.

The smile fell from her face a bit as she touched the door to her son's room. It was ajar. But what had brought her face to the state it was in was a noise. The door across from the room she was currently at was opening. It wasn't the fact that it wasn't Jack that came out of the bathroom that got to her. And it wasn't the fact that Miko gave a loud yawn that did either. No, what shot a bullet through June Darby's mind was the fact that the Asian girl had emerged from the bathroom stark naked.

After scratching her armpit, Miko blinked and noticed the older female gawking at her. The girl's eyes grew to the size of dinner-plates while her cheeks heated up more than she'd ever felt them. She could've sworn she saw the hallway lighting up a bit from their redness. Hesitantly she looked at the door to Jack's room before returning her glance to his mother. June's eyes followed in a similar pattern, her jaw somehow lowering even further from the ideas that popped into her head from the viewable connection she was seconds the two females stared at each other, their minds racing. After what seemed like an hour, the older woman coughed and stood up to her full height. Miko bit her lip.

"Well...better not keep him waiting..." June said quietly, her eyes closed and her cheeks red. Miko took a step back in shock. Was she really...giving her permission?...

"Wait...you're not gonna...talk to us or any of that crap that a parent's supposed to do?..." Miko asked. She was stupefied. A stern face formed on June's.

"Not yet," she told her. Miko gulped. Slowly she marched to Jack's door. Stealing a glance back at the woman, Miko gave a nervous wave and slipped into the room. In need of the comfort after such an encounter, Miko practically dove into the covers and snuggled up into Jack's arms.

"Why hello..." he murmured sleepily and gave her a kiss on the head, "You see someone break into the house or something?..."

"...something like that..." she said quietly burying her face deeper into his chest.

* * *

Jack hummed a little tune to himself as he walked down the hallway. As with most of his and Miko's "bonding" time, last night would be a night Jack would never forget. If nothing else, THAT was one thing that she seemed to be an expert at. And the boy couldn't be more thankful for it. Every night now was pure bliss. The emotions, the intensity, the sheer colliding love. It was all so much to take in. It was their purpose and life being realized to the fullest and shared with each other. The most intimate and private of acts coupled between them as they wrestled beneath the covers the bed.

Had Jack still been in the bathroom he might have noticed the smile forming on his face in the small time-frame he'd been walking. Unsatisfied with the normal air, Jack took a deep breath in vain hope that the Asian girl's scent might somehow work its way into his nostrils. It was a futile gesture of course. She was in the dining room and he was in the hall. Of course he'd be there in a matter of seconds. The smile widened at the thought of her. He would come in and give her a kiss right on the cheek. And after the events of the previous night it would more than likely evolve into much more than just that.

Jack really did have to say that he could not have ever predicted that they'd wind up in the relationship they were now in. They were so...opposite...but maybe that's what they liked about each other so much. They were there to get in each other's way. Counteract their differences. Miko was there to break him out of being a distanced teenage boy, and he was there to keep her from getting herself killed in her stupidity and immaturity. Sure there'd been hints that he'd picked up on with her wanting to game with him more then Raf and persisting at trying to one-up him even after she knew that the team realized her occasional importance. But he never thought they'd actually...get to this point. They really did love each other. In his state of bliss, Jack finally slid through the kitchen and into the dining room.

"Hi Mik-MOM!" Jack yelped upon seeing the woman sitting across from the girl. Miko chanced a nervous smile back at him and nudged her head signaling for him to take a seat. Just as shaky as she seemed to be, Jack slipped into a chair, his vision continually switching between the two females. Calmly, June lifted her cup of coffee and took a sip. "I uh...didn't expect to see you home this early..." Jack stuttered rubbing his arm. Noticing the glass of orange juice that had been prepared for him, he decided to take his own drink, even if simply to calm his nerves. He felt Miko's hand give his a squeeze. Sheepishly he smiled at her.

"Got off work early," June replied setting down her cup, "now then. How was your night?" Jack lifted a brow to Miko, a suspicious smile lifting. To his surprise she didn't return the look. She didn't even put her eyes on him...in fact...she seemed...cautious.

"It was...fun," he decided to answer for both of them. June nodded.

"I'm sure," she said. Needing some more comfort, Jack took another sip from his glass. "So what all exactly do you two do in bed?" Then spit out the mouthful. Jack's eyes bulged and he began hacking on what little of the liquid had gotten caught in his throat in surprise.

"W-WHAT!" he managed to choke as the coughing died down. June's expression lightened a bit. She'd always wanted to see if she could get someone to do that. The humor was quickly dismissed of course. They had rather serious business to talk about. Warily Jack eyed Miko. Her face was just as red as his. "M-mom...what are you-"

"Saw Miko last night when I came home," June told him, "after you were in bed." Jack glanced at his friend in disbelief. Miko just gave an innocent smile back. The boy smacked his forehead. So this was how it ended. Not with a breakup or one of them getting killed in a meaningful scene...no, it was from his mom finding out by coming home early from work. "So...how intimate have you been?" his mom asked. Jack was surprised that she didn't just yell at them right then and there.

"...define the highest level of intimacy please..." Miko said poking her fingers together in embarrassment. June's eyes widened as she peered at her son. Jack felt like he could die in his seat.

"Mom uh...well you see...we're teenagers and uh...a boy and girl...in uh...bed..." he tried to come up with an excuse. It was a lost cause. June just kept her arms folded in full awareness of the vainness of it all.

"I take it you've been using protection?" she persisted much to his dismay. Jack's face was getting redder by the second. It'd have been one thing if it was a private conversation, but he was being asked this right in front of his...partner.

"Um...well...I don't really know where to get uh...condoms..." he cringed. That would be it. It had to be. This would be the point where his mother would drag him into her room and start smacking him over the head or something. And it certainly did seem like it with how horrified an expression she now had. Fortunately for this particular moment, it wasn't a private conversation.

"Relax Mrs. D. My host parents never let me leave the house without taking that stupid pill," Miko told her distastefully, "Besides, I'm sure what we're doing feels SOOO much better than having some tube of plastic sliding in and out of...uh...I'll shut up now." Everyone in the room was blushing by that point. June's sigh broke the long silence that followed. To Jack and Miko's complete and utter shock she smiled.

"Well alright," she sighed. Jack and Miko blinked and stared at each other.

"All...right?..." Miko asked making sure that she'd heard the woman correctly. June nodded.

"It's not like I could stop if I tried if you really do like each other like that," she shrugged, "I was a teen once too. I know this kinda stuff. Just so long as I'm not becoming a grandma just yet. Besides Jack, you're the most responsible boy I know. I trust you." More happy than she'd been in a long time, Miko wrapped her arms around Jack and placed her head at his shoulder.

"Oh kickass! Can't believe you're mom said we're allowed to...uh..." Miko trailed off as her and Jack stared at the adult in the room. She had a rather testing look on her face from the sudden excitement. Jack and Miko gave her doubtful smiles.

"...we won't do it while you're here," Jack assured her.

* * *

"Sir?" a distant voice. Megatron shook his head woozily. In the back of his mind he could still feel the pang of the detestable violence that had swam over his mentality. "Sir?" the voice repeated, "Yoohoo...can you see me?..." Megatron found himself asking that as well actually. He knew that his eyes were open, but all the he could see was a blur. A reddish one to be precise. Now that he thought about what the voice sounded like he realized who it was. The Decepticon groaned clutching his head. Knockout gave a sigh of relief. "Well at least you haven't become one with the Allspark." Shaking off more of the pained effects, Megatron turned around a bit. He was back on his warship!

"Knockout, what is the status of the artifact?" Megatron muttered. Knockout couldn't believe what he was hearing. Even after all that the leader was still fixated on that objective?

"We lost it sir," Knockout told him. The titanic Cybertronian's teeth gritted. Angrily he hopped to his feet and pulled the medic into the air. Megatron's glare made his Spark run cold. "Sorry sir, but we had...bigger problems at the time," Knockout dared to apologize. He could've sworn he saw steam coming out from the linings of Megatron's plating.

"What would have been more important?..." he seethed, "Battling the Autobots? I think not..." Knockout blinked.

"But sir...that's what you were doing..." he told him, "...and then Starscream whom you very viciously decided to dent the wings of..." Now Megatron was the one to blink. Slowly he set the smaller Decepticon back on the ground and reclaimed his seat.

"...what?" he asked, "I don't remember any of that..." Knockout's eyes narrowed slightly.

"...Sir...you wouldn't have happened to have been using Dark Energon again would you have?" Knockout inquired, a touch of disapproval in his voice. Megatron competed with the suspicious look.

"So what if I have?" he asked darkly, "I'm the leader of our faction. What I say goes. And besides, not like you would be able to do much to stop me..." Knockout rolled his eyes. He wasn't even threatened by the vicious nature of his commander anymore. They were idle words that were just there to get him out of the situation.

"Soundwave had to restrain you," Knockout told him. A wave of surprise washed over the taller Decepticon. "You ripped apart about three or four of our troops before he decided to step in. For everyone else's sake, you can't be pulling this scrap." Megatron's head tilted downwards a tad. Was he really losing himself to that dark influence?...

"I'm...sorry...really..." he sighed, "It's just...what do you recommend we do doctor?" Knockout's eyes widened. Megatron had never asked for his advice before.

"Well...we should probably do a scan of your systems to see how much the Dark Energon has multiplied by now," Knockout told him. Megatron nodded.

"Do it."

* * *

Miko was too enraptured in the game she was playing to hear the door near the bed close. Gaming always took her mind off of things, even things she didn't mind.

"And how is my favorite little Asian after all that?" Jack whispered into Miko's ear. The touch of Jack's arm sliding around her waist sent shivers up her spine. Not at all detesting the idea, Miko leaned back allowing the boy's arms to pull her against him even more. Her unquenchable desire ever yearning for more, Miko grabbed the hand that had settled at her pelvis and slid it up to her breast inciting a light gasp from the squeeze it gave. With a small moan she leaned her head back into his neck and brushed her lips along the underside of his jaw, the blush of his cheeks joining her's.

"Well...a bit better now..." Miko replied quietly. Jack tensed up a bit from the pressure of her lower body pressing against his front. Looking down towards her butt she giggled. "And I'm guessing I don't need to ask how you're feeling..." The coloring in Jack's face intensified. "But thanks...squeeze again." Miko let out an excited "eep!" as he did so. Unable to suppress her rising primal urge any longer, Miko whirled around in his arms and pushed his body down into the bed with her's. Viciously their tongues lashed at each other. It was always so invigorating when they'd breathe into their mouths, filling the other with their air.

A natural reaction to him by now, Jack slowly slid his hands down to Miko's lower back where they squeezed instigating even more of a violent slithering from her tongue while her body rubbed up down against his. In return, Miko's hands also began to wander. Mainly it was down his front. More firm than his cautious touch, the girl slid the appendages across his tummy and sides to which he shivered quite a bit. Then he felt the pressure reach his lower body. That's the point that he broke apart from the girl. Panting, Miko grinned and began to slide one hand in when he grabbed her arm. Wondering just why he was acting so negatively, Miko looked up. Jack's face was full of regret and turmoil.

"Remember?...not while mom's around..." he reminded. Sighing, Miko just collapsed onto his body. Better to have something than nothing at all.

"And here I was hoping to have a good shower today," she murmured. Sympathetically, Jack ran his fingers through her hair.

"You can still take one silly," he told her.

"I said a good one," she grinned up at him half-heartedly. Smiling back, Jack nuzzled his face into her hair. At least they were still together. That had been his biggest fear. A parent somewhere would find out and BAM! No more relationship...and possibly no more Miko period. Not to say that wasn't a bad thing sometimes, but with how things had developed...they needed each other. Not just for the intimacy, but for their friendship too. On whatever insane level of mentality, they enjoyed each other's company. They liked all the times they would argue and fight. It gave meaning to their otherwise dull lives.

"...you know what? Fuck it. Let's take that shower! Need to loosen up after that whole mom thing!" Jack exclaimed. Miko looked up at Jack in wonder. She didn't know where that sudden burst of confidence had come from...but she liked it. Soon she had quite the sizable grin on her face. Using what force he could muster, Jack wobbled out of bed with the girl in his arms bridal style. "...yeah...Arcee's right...you're heavier than ya look..." Miko shot an annoyed look at him which he smiled back at as they emerged from his room. Just he was about to reach the bathroom though, something caught his eye. At the end of the hall was his mom staring at them.

"...uh..." she blinked in confusion. Out of hesitation Jack dropped Miko and turned to his parent.

"H-hi mom," he waved uneasily, "We were just uh...playing around. We were gonna use the shower if you don't mind." Now her eyes widened.

"...together?..." she questioned. Jack rubbed his arm.

"Yes, together," Miko responded somehow cautious and annoyed at the same time rubbing her butt as she got back to her feet. The two teenagers continued the unsettling stare-down with the grown up for about half a minute before anyone spoke again.

"...alright..." June eventually murmured, "Just don't take too long. And be VERY careful, you could slip and-"

"Mom, we both know how to use a bathtub," Jack interrupted in embarrassment. June sighed.

"Alright, but be sure to wash your hair and under your arms and-"

"MOM!" Jack turned his face away from Miko, his cheeks bright red. He could hear the girl giggling next to him. Giving them a anxious smile, June nodded her head and continued her trek to her room. Still chuckling to herself quite a bit, Miko opened the door and walked in.

"Hey uh, Miko, sorry about droppin-"

"You can make it up to me in here," she told Jack yanking him in and locking the door behind him.

* * *

"Well guys, it's about time for me to pick up Miko and Jack," Bulkhead announced. All that he received from the red and white Autobot was a tilt of his head. Ratchet was forever toiling away at whatever peaked his interest.

"Have a good time," Raf told the hulking Cybertronian. At the lounge area the smallest human was currently racing a virtual car against Bumblebee in a video game. From the looks of things, the Transformer was quite the expert and by far the best opponent Raf had to look forward to. Even after the green car had driven off, Bumblebee and Raf were still neck and neck. It looked like they were both going to cross the finish line at the same time when suddenly the screen darkened...actually...the whole room darkened. Bumblebee's eyes went wide and he began to hop around excitedly.

"Relax Bee, let's just say we both won," Raf laughed to his partner. Shoulders slumped in annoyance, the Autobot picked the smaller being up and walked over to Ratchet. Before they'd arrived at the console the power had flickered back on.

"What's up?" Raf asked.

"Oh it's this stupid artifact..." Ratchet grumbled. Raf looked at the computer screen. The medic seemed to be analyzing the data of the triangle that Jack and Miko had brought back in their most recent endeavor. In the center of it appeared to be a circular jewel-like structure. "The scrappin' thing's giving off too much power whenever I try to really get a good inspection of it," Ratchet sighed, "Hence the power malfunctions in the base..." Raf rubbed his chin as he approached the computer screen closer.

"...have you tried comparing the energy it gives off to anything archived?" the human asked. Ratchet lifted a brow.

"No...but how exactly would that help?" he replied.

"Think of it like this," Raf told him, "If scientists have something they've never come in contact with before they compare and contrast it to other findings to pinpoint what exactly it's closest to. This might not look like anything else you have on record, but if this gives off so much energy surely you could fiddle around with the energy readings of artifacts you guys have had in the past. Then you might be able to get it under better control after some analyzation of its comparison." Ratchet blinked, his mouth sunken a bit.

"...you really are one smart kid," he shook his head in disbelief. The only wonder Ratchet had about the whole issue was why he hadn't thought of the solution first.

* * *

"And be careful!" June Darby waved. More to satisfy her than to give actual response, the boy and girl waved back through the window. Once she was out of sight, they slumped back in the seats of the green vehicle letting out sighs of relief.

"DEAR GOD!" Miko cried pulling on her pigtails, "That. Was. Torture!" Jack was too busy rubbing the sides of his head to really pay much attention to her own whining. He was still trying to cope with the fact that his mom now knew about everything. His insides rattled. The entire time in the shower neither of them had been all that calm. Just that fear of the other person in the house...being there...waiting for a slip-up. The unknown consequences of breaking the rules that'd been set up for something so private now that it was known. The situation was all so nerve-wrecking...his mom just simply having the knowledge was what was getting to them.

And not only that...how calm she'd been about it. Normally Jack assumed that a child, especially his age, would've been beaten senseless for such stupidity. But nope...she'd been just fine with them being so close. Granted she'd obviously been a bit annoyed. That could be seen clear-as-day on her face whenever Jack and Miko were together now. But she did nothing to stop it. It's like she was abandoning her job as a parent...something that did not sit well in his stomach. She was the only one he had to look up to...

But at the same time...it's what he'd hoped. Sure he'd never imagined that she'd actually be fine with him and Miko, but he had hoped beyond hope that they could stay together in some way. And she was allowing it! Even after finding out what all they'd done! The whole matter was a double-bladed sword. Pros and cons to both aspects in his mind.

"But really, you should have seen the look on her face last night..." Miko cringed at the memory, "...me just coming out of the bathroom with nothing but...well nothing on..." Jack blushed at the thought. "Jaw just hanging there...eyes wide..."

"Can we please not talk about it?..." Jack murmured.

"R-right..." Miko chuckled nervously. For quite a while the car drove in silence. This obviously bugged Bulkhead since he was so used to commotion from his partner.

"Alright, so...anything else up with you two besides the embarrassing incident that you'll likely never recover from today?" he asked. Miko's eye twitched.

"Not helping..." she grumbled. Deciding it best to keep his voice synthesizer as inactive as possible, Bulkhead flipped on the radio. "Well...either way...well we're alone now!" Miko realized happily, "Except for the Rustbucket Wingman-Dropout here."

"HEY!"

"So...happy fun time that we couldn't have at home now?" Miko suggested. Jack glanced at her for a few seconds before giving a slow nod.

"I'm still here you know. Would appreciate it if you didn'-" Bulkhead's voice died as Miko turned down the volume on the radio. With a wink she leaned towards Jack. Though a bit hesitant, the boy did the same. But the lips never touched. Their eyes closed and their mouths pursed...but they never touched. Their faces just hung there frozen in front of each other, their blood pumping viciously through them. Miko was the one to break away first.

"GOD DAMNIT!" she growled hitting her head against the car's window. Jack just leaned back, shame written on his face. The girl hadn't wanted to admit it, but June knowing about everything had gotten to her too! That's why she'd been gaming! To forget about the whole mess! That's why she'd tried to be the active one when they were together afterwards. Being the one that never thought more than five seconds ahead, she never took notice, or would have wanted to, that she'd feel the deep sinking feeling of dishonesty and that crap afterwards in the wake of her imminent enjoyment. She just wanted to forget about the whole thing...

"...I miss when this was a secret relationship..." she grumbled. The comment made Jack laugh lightly.

"You seem to dislike a lot of things that my mom does," he noticed. Miko nodded her head all too eagerly.

"You can say that again. Her trying to play parent to me and Raf and telling us what do...and her finding out about the Autobots and all that crap! She doesn't play by the rules!"

"That's probably a good thing if they're YOUR rules," Jack informed. Miko puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. But the jest did at least liven her mood a bit...a bit. There was still the lingering sense of the embarrassment from everything. Miko and Jack shared a sigh. Time really seemed to be the only thing that healed such issues. Sure the scars would always be there, but it'd get better.

"Well...okay...so mom knows...we just gotta...make the best of it," Jack admitted. Miko turned her head to him once he'd placed his hand on her's. She could see the burst of confidence that he'd had when he gave in to the shower request beneath his face. "I still love you...and you still love me...that doesn't change...so...how's about we just accept it and-mmm!" Miko's lips pressed firmly against his as Bulkhead wheeled into the base, her breaking point reached and their troubles and fears for the moment thrown to the wind.

-end of chapter-

Well, believe it or not...that scene where they're at the table with Jack's mom is the VERY FIRST THING I ever thought up about this story. It was late one night, I was in bed, and I thought that scene up out of boredom. And that's what this story all started from. Figured I'd go back to more of the Jack Miko focus of the older chapters with this one.

Here they be in bed: warahi(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Red-Handed-307809018


	14. Maternity Matters

Chapter 14: Maternity Matters

"Whoooeee!" Miko exclaimed stretching, "Now that was nice! I needed that!" Jack ran a hand through his hair and let out a relieved huff after pulling his shirt back fully over his body. "Damn that was a good one...no mom here. Just you, me, and a whole lotta this," Miko giggled pressing her lips against his. Though caught a bit off-guard, Jack leaned into the delicate gesture giving his own kiss back. The two remained in the storage room for a few minutes before finally deciding to exit and accompany each other back to the more populated areas of the base. Despite their cooling faces and more ragged breath than usual, the duo seemed just to be like any other time they were together to the Autobots. Casually they passed by Bulkhead who looked to be caught up in a game of Lobbing with Bumblebee.

"Woo! Go Bulkman!" Miko cheered weakly as the bigger bot bested Bumblebee. The yellow Autobot put his hands on his hips and made a bunch of noises at the larger one.

"Yeah yeah, you just keep telling yourself that," Bulkhead chuckled bouncing the metal sphere around in his hands. Knowing that the girl would only antagonize the situation further, Jack clamped his hand over Miko's mouth and dragged her off to the lounge area. Understandably annoyed by her lack of pestering, Miko fought all the way, only breaking free when Jack sat her down on the sofa in front of the TV. She was about to start up a commotion when she saw the boy she'd been seated next to. A few feet away Raf was quietly snoring, his laptop open.

"Aw, wook at da widdle baby," she giggled leaning over to him. Jack may have stopped her from teasing Bumblebee, but she could at least have fun with his unconscious partner. Figuring it'd probably save the battery on the device, Jack walked over to shut the laptop. The screen peaked his interest a bit. On it was a diagram of the triangular object he and Miko had recovered earlier. That must've been what he was studying between gaming breaks when they were going up against each other. "He has your face you know," Miko teased. Jack laughed lightly at the continued annoyance. Perhaps he could let it slide with someone who wasn't awake.

"And my brain obviously," Jack chuckled.

"HEY! I'm smart!" Miko grumbled. Jack lifted his brow.

"Seven times seven?" Jack asked. Miko opened her mouth to speak. As time went on her eyes darted around as if searching for the answer. A confident smirk hung on Jack's face.

"Uh...twenty-nine?..." she guessed. Jack's eyes widened slightly.

"How did you even get..." he murmured. Shaking off the wonder, Jack rolled his eyes. "It's forty-nine," he told her. Miko scoffed and rolled her eyes as well in response.

"Well duh, I was just...seeing if you knew," she tried to excuse herself, "Besides, minus the nerdy glasses and vest thingy, he has the mom's terrific sense of fashion. I mean look at that hair! Dragon Ball baby!" Miko pulled at the quill-like structures lightly.

"Well the mom is pretty nice to look at..." Jack played along. The comment made Miko's face go quite a shade of red. Her eyelids half-closed, she glanced up at the taller boy.

"Well the dad isn't half-bad either once you get past the blandness of him," she replied. Blushing back, Jack knelt down over the arm of the couch and the younger boy. Miko lifted herself up a bit so that she was at Jack's level. Their minds set on the same goal, the two teenagers opened their lips and lowered their eyelids even more.

"I'd appreciate if you two didn't make out above me," a new voice murmured. Immediately, Jack and Miko yanked back to their previous positions. Parts of them wished they could just disappear from the embarrassment.

"R-Raf!" Jack hesitantly greeted, "Uh, hey buddy! What's up?..."

"And uh...how long were you awake exactly?" Miko inquired. Raf's vision shifted between the fifteen-year-old and sixteen-year-old sleepily.

"Long enough to hear you playing house," he yawned, "You're lucky I didn't have my computer recording you two. Otherwise I'd have the perfect blackmail to show our friends."

"Oh you little-!" Miko cried grabbing him and shaking him about. Any sleepiness that might've remained in the young boy was violently tossed aside. It didn't take long for Jack to pull her back.

"Relax," he sighed, "he wasn't recording. We're fine." Miko let out a few puffs of air from her nose before settling her shoulders back into a relaxed position.

"Yeah, and that's no way to treat the "baby" of the family is it "mommy"?" Raf smirked. Miko's teeth gritted inside her mouth.

"Don't push it..." she growled. Just then they heard the revving of an engine causing the group to look over the railing to the floor below. Waiting there was a blue motorcycle.

"You two ready to get goin'?" Arcee asked, "I could really go for a power-down about now..." Jack smiled.

"We'll be down in a sec," he told her. Just before Miko started down she shot an unamused look at the youngest member of the group.

"Night night "mommy"..." Raf chuckled. Miko's eyes narrowed.

* * *

June Darby finished the last of her cup of wine. It was getting rather dark out by now which meant that her son and his...friend would be home soon. Of course by now she was used to getting calls from Miko's host parents to make sure that the girl really was staying over the house for the night. That was never a problem. But now that she knew just what exactly had been going on between the boy and girl...June couldn't help but wince every time the perverse thoughts ventured through her they were growing up and she couldn't stop them if they really wanted it...but she'd told herself that as much as she'd told them. She didn't want to believe that Jack, her son, was partaking in such acts and that she couldn't stop it. But for his sake she allowed it.

That is why the woman had been thinking long and hard all day about how she should be acting with the decision she'd made. June knew that the teenagers could sense her...animosity towards the relationship everytime she saw them together now and she knew that that certainly would not be helping matters on any end. It'd just make them all uncomfortable. She couldn't help how she felt though. It was ingrained in her nature. She was a mother worrying about her son. But at the same time...he needed to experience this stuff himself. As early as she could she'd guided Jack in everything from entertainment to sexual education, and now it was his time to use all that he'd been taught.

Sighing, June looked down at the empty cup, the only remaining liquid along the bottom's lining. Confidence. That's why she'd been drinking it. To get her morale up for the difficult task ahead. At the end of everything she had come to one conclusion. She needed to be happy about it all. About the relationship. She needed to support it for the sake of its participants, not be an obstacle. She shouldn't be a hindrance. The reason she'd been drinking the wine was so that it'd give her the added strength to handle the task. She just hoped she could pull it off convincingly. Her eyes shot open at the sound of the front door being knocked on.

"Hello! Mom?" Jack called, "We're here!..."

"And we're fully clothed!" Miko added. June's eye twitched at the remark. Of course Miko would be the one to say such a thing given the circumstances. There was no doubt in her mind that Jack was already giving her some form of a disapproving reaction. No need to do the job herself. As calmly as possible, June walked to the living room and slipped into view. Jack quickly released the girl from the headlock he had her in allowing them to both stand at full attention to her.

"Uh...it's movie night tonight," Jack reminded shyly in case she forgotten. Inwardly, June's heart faltered a bit. He wasn't supposed to be shy around her...at least not in such reservation of his happiness.

"Oh I know," June replied, a wide smile on her face. Jack and Miko glanced at each other uneasily. They'd never seen the woman so physically happy when the girl was around before. And in their minds she certainly shouldn't be after the recent events that she'd uncovered.

"Uh...mom...are you alright?" Jack asked worriedly. Startling them both, June let out a laugh. The younger humans shifted their stances.

"Of course I am honey," she replied, her giggling beginning to subside, "I just wanted to...see you when you came home is all." Miko didn't know whether she should hide behind the nearby couch or just stay where she was as the oddly excited woman started to approach them. To her relief though, June seemed only focused on her son. Delictately she placed a hand on each of the boy's cheek and tilted her head against his. "I love you honey," she told him quietly before giving him a kiss on the cheek. Jack's embarrassment only intensified with Miko's sideline giggling.

"Now I know you two have a busy night ahead of you so I don't wanna get in your way," June told them standing back up to full height. A bit too happily she gave them a wink. Miko and Jack shared rather disturbed faces from the newfound enthusiasm that the adult had. "So you two just run along and make all the squeaky bed noises you need to," June practically sang as she departed back to the Dining Room. Jack and Miko stood there for a few seconds, their minds lost in disbelief. Then they shot off to Jack's bedroom.

"...what...was...that?..." Miko asked slowly once the door had been closed. His thoughts absent, Jack shook his head.

"...I don't know..." he eventually murmured back, "...but it was...weird..."

* * *

"Okay...despite that stupid "windfly!" crap that the green one was speaking with, Bionicle was pretty awesome," Miko reviewed the movie as the credits rolled. Yawning, the girl snuggled deeper into the boy's arms. The action contagious, Jack followed with his own yawn before wrapping his limbs tighter around her body. Affectionately he ran his lips along her neck causing her to clench her eyes from the ecstasy they brought.

"Yeah," Jack agreed, "Bionicle is pretty awesome but the movies tend to look too...rubbery to me until the final one..."

"Well, they are just plastic toys in real life," Miko reminded. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but in-story they're obviously machines," Jack murmured, "...and you're obviously trying to start up a fight..." Miko grinned up at him.

"You know me too well," she cooed. Now Jack was the one grinning. Rarely did he have thoughts of revenge or some such ideas towards something. But with Miko that nature became a lot more frequent.

"Well challenge accepted!" Jack declared. Miko's sleepiness evaporated as she was unexpectedly thrown onto the bed beneath the boy where his fingers swam quickly up and down her sides. The girl couldn't even hold back an ounce of the laughter from the dancing of the digits. Every bit of her body was caught up in excited spasms due to the nerves that Jack's fingers brushed across. And he wouldn't stop. No matter the pitch or frequency of the laughter he just kept on tickling. Miko didn't doubt that she deserved such torture, but she had to at least fight back. It was nature. That of course did not change the fact that Jack was physically stronger. Despite her efforts to break free, all that Miko could do was stay pinned there at Jack's mercy. Fortunately the attack wasn't for much longer.

"Alright," he smiled rolling off of her, "I think you've learned your lesson."

"Oh have I?" Miko asked. Before Jack could move away the Asian had tossed herself on him and started up a tickling of her own. Jack gasped for air between the laughs. Every time he pushed her off she found a different way to cling on to him and a different body part to wriggle her fingers across. Jack may have had the male advantage of more muscle, but Miko with her smaller build found it easier to slip through his grasps and blocks. But even she had to let up eventually. Both taking in large amounts of air, the teenagers fell back on the bed next to each other sharing in the free laughter now. Once they had regained their composure, Jack and Miko turned their heads to each other.

"But seriously...Bulkhead could so beat that Makuta guy," Miko boasted. Jack let out a single laugh.

"You're saying that Bulkhead could beat some grand master of darkness?" he chuckled. Only Miko would have the nerve to make that kind of claim, "I'm pretty sure not even Arcee would be able to down him that easily." Miko's eyes narrowed and the corners of her mouth curled upwards.

"So you're saying that Arcee can beat Bulkhead again? Sounds like you need another lesson," she told him mischievously. This time however Jack was ready. With ease he grabbed the girl's crawling hands and held them suspended over his head while her lower body fought to pull them back.

"Do gotta say though, that Makuta guy's a ton more level-headed than Megatron," Jack laughed at the tugging female. Miko's concentration was only on continuing her planned offense to her opponent. But with how Jack was holding her, that wouldn't be happening any time soon. The door opening only solidified the fact. Surprised by the sudden intrusion, Jack let go of the Miko causing her to fall forward onto him. Peeking through the doorway was his mom, the wide creepy smile from before still on her face. The younger humans just stared at her. "...hi mom..." Jack waved.

"Oh hello you two little bunnies," she replied in a sickeningly sweet tone. Miko closed her eyes. The embarrassment was certainly not just for Jack anymore. "I was just checking in to see if anything was wrong was all. Hadn't heard as many noises as I thought I should be hearing by this point," she continued. Now Miko's eyes were wide as dinner plates. She was normally the one that'd be making the comments with that kind of disregard! Added to it, the whole way she spoke...what she said...it was just flat-out creepy for anyone to say, let alone a parent! Needless to say, Jack wasn't fairing much better. His face was red and hiding as best it could in the pillows behind him.

"We're...just being...quiet tonight Mrs. D.," Miko came up with something to say knowing that Jack would probably be too nerve-shot to, "don't wanna disturb you or anything ya know?..." To both of them, the giggle that the adult gave was the least of the oddities that June had presented that evening.

"Oh don't worry about me sillies," she chuckled in her woozyish state, "the more noise the better. Believe me, I'd know." Miko's eyes rolled into the back of her head from the wink June gave her.

"Mom!" Jack cried, his face crimson from embarrassment, "We do not need to hear that!" The only response she gave the boy was a rather lucid giggle. Something was really odd about her...

"Oh and please Miko, call me mom. After all, looks like we're gonna be adding another member to the family soon enough," she persisted in her attempts to show the acceptance of their relationship. It only caused the girl to collapse onto the boy's chest in shock. Feeling as though her work was done, June slipped back out into the hall and shut the door. For a few minutes the the boy and girl lied there in the dark, their minds jello from the latest encounter with the adult.

"Miko...after that I don't think I'm really up for-"

"I hear ya..." she cut Jack off. Pleasantly she sighed. His scent always did help her relax. "How's about we just...sleep tonight..." she yawned. Jack gave her a tired nod before giving her a kiss on the head.

* * *

"Ugh! Those stupid idiots!" Starscream hissed clutching his leg. The limb had a hole in it about the size of a car door. Sure he hadn't expected escaping his former team to be easy, but he also hadn't thought that they'd have had the nerve to use such severe weaponry on him! Practically every shot fired by even the grunts was enough to send quite a spasm to his processor. Megatron wasn't taking any chances at this point. Starscream chuckled lightly through the pain. It may have been dark humor, but at least he knew that he was enough of a pain to the lord of the Decepticons that he was actually getting the attention he deserved now...just not the kind he wanted... All of a sudden he heard something and spun around. Something had rustled in the bushes.

"Who's there!" he cried in a panic lifting his firearms to the foilage, "I wouldn't take me on if I were you! I-I'm the great and powerful Air Commander Starscream!..."

"Oh so you're one of those kind of Starscreams," a sly voice laughed. Startled by the newcomer's casualness, Starscream backed up a bit. The Transformer that had emerged was a sleekish purple one of standard height. But there was something about him that was...different than any other Cybertronian he'd come across before. Whether it be the air or look or sheer presence, there was something off about the Transformer.

"I-I'm warning you!" Starscream gulped backing up another step. The foreigner scoffed.

"Please," he laughed, "Yeah dude I know who you are. Great mighty Seeker from the Trypticon Facility. Constant usurper to Megatron. That which gets stepped on by anyone he comes across. I mean hell, those humans you teamed up with probably backstabbed you in some way even." Normally Starscream would've shot someone for spouting off his failures. But at the moment he was too frightened and surprised by the wealth of knowledge that he seemed to possess. "Name's Sideways," the purple Transformer told him putting a hand to his chest. Starscream eyed him suspciously.

"Er...yes...and uh...why exactly are you talking to me?..." the Seeker inquired.

"I just thought I'd see if you'd be interested in a partnership..." Sideways replied.

* * *

The pressing of Miko's lips only enhanced the light-headedness of the already incomprehensibly passionate situation. The girl's pelvis jerked towards his with the suggestion his hand made on her butt. They were beyond the point of blushing now. It was all normality to them in the steamy room that they inhabited. At Jack's side another form of the girl ran kisses up and down his cheek and neck while another cuddled against the arm on the opposite end of his body. It was bliss. In the boy's mind he was in heaven. Ever-willing, Jack interacted as much as he could to the three females. Then another appeared.

All the teenagers stopped what they were doing to look at the girl that had drawn back the curtains at the end of the bed. Pulled back on her head was vibrant orange hair. Her hands were on her naked hips and a stern looked was on her face. Jack's jaw dropped and the Mikos glared.

"S-Sierra!" he gulped wobbling towards her, "Uh...I can uh...explain..." The visage of beauty folded her arms over her breasts waiting for the answer. Jack tried to speak but his voice just came out garbled, his mentality overwhelmed by the heat of the situation. But she did get a response.

"I can too," the Mikos told her, a touch of distaste in their voices. Helplessly the boy was pulled back by the girls he was leaving. But that wasn't the only direction he was taken. Intent on keeping his interest on her, Sierra grabbed his shoulders and yanked him towards her own direction. Jack could feel his body tearing apart with the continued struggle. Sierra would get some and the Mikos would too. Either way, he'd be torn. But he couldn't do anything. Jack couldn't help his feelings. Just as his body ripped, his eyes snapped open. The boy lifted off the bed panting from the intensity of the dream. Even in consciousness though, something was wrong...he was alone.

"Come on...there has to be one in here somewhere..." Miko's voice murmured. Looking to the side Jack blushed. There the girl was bent over with only her shirt and panties on and her butt facing him as her waist wiggled . Absent-mindedly he placed a hand on his lower body.

"Uh...Miko...what are you doing?" he managed to ask. Her pigtails jumped a bit in surprise at hearing him speak. The alert face was soon replaced with a frown as she walked over to him and sat down.

"Oh just looking for cameras," she grunted. Jack gave her a perplexed look.

"Cameras?" he asked. Miko nodded while she began to wave her arms around.

"I mean think about it Jack! What the hell is up with your mom? She encourages us to get it on, complains when she doesn't hear us going at it, and just seems obsessed with getting us to go all the way now! Is it really that much of a stretch to think that she wouldn't be spying on us too? I mean hell, this might all be so that she can get footage to jack off to us-" Miko's voice was silenced from the hand Jack put over her mouth. His cheeks were blood-red. Sympathetically her mouth lifted into a small smile underneath the appendage.

"Look, I know my mom. She wouldn't do that," Jack muttered trying desperately to get such images out of his head, "Though...I really don't get what's up with her right now...how's about we just head on out to the base for some privacy. At least there we won't have people barging in on us...as unexpectedly. But you gotta promise to be quiet so she doesn't catch us." Miko nodded viciously. Jack's brows furrowed causing her to nod slower.

"...I'll do my best," she gave him all the guarantee she could. Jack sighed and removed the hand.

"Get dressed," he told her. While he slipped into his shirt, Miko pulled on her tank-top and slid her shorts up which she buckled with her belt. After patting their clothing down to make sure everything was all nice and comfortable, the pair walked to the door and creaked it open. Miko waited at Jack's arm while he eyed the hallway. Unable to keep herself from the excitement of being sneaky, Miko peeked out too. Nothing. It was silent.

"Alright! Let's-" Jack nearly knocked Miko over with how fast he covered her mouth. The look he gave her felt like daggers. Her eyes beamed an innocent expression back at him at which he shook his head. Placing a finger over his lips, Jack slipped out into the hallway with Miko following close behind. They were almost at the garage door too when they were stopped by a moan. In the Dining Room Jack's mom was sitting at the table clutching her head.

"Haven't felt one this bad since College," she grumbled. Trying to cope with the annoying hangover, June popped open an eye. Miko tried her best to pull her and Jack out of sight, but it was too late. "Oh Jack! Miko! I uh...wanted to talk to yo-"

"RUN!" Miko cried. June's headache was too severe to allow her to properly chase after them. By the time she'd entered the garage Arcee was already speeding into the street. Irritated, June pulled out her cell phone and made a call.

"Fowler, please come pick me up."

"WOOHOO! YES!" Miko cried throwing her arms in the air. It was a split-second before they were around Jack's body again. In the sense of freedom she'd completely dismissed any regard for safety she might have had on the speeding motorcycle. But Miko hardly cared. They were no longer suffering under the suffocating pressure of Jack's crazed mom! Whatever had gotten into her she didn't know nor did she care. Miko was just happy that they were away now.

"So are either of you going to tell me what the scrap's going on?" Arcee asked, "A girl usually likes to get her power-down cycles finished properly before being jump-started..."

"We can tell you later. Right now just head on out to the base!" Miko squealed squeezing Jack's stomach. The boy's eyes went to his head in glee. The moment wasn't to last long however. After a few more minutes the humans noticed something a bit behind them. There was a car tailing them and in it was June. Miko gulped and squeezed Jack tighter causing his eyes to bulge a bit. "FASTER!" she cried.

"Why do we need to...why is Fowler chasing us?..." Arcee muttered realizing the vehicle behind her as well. Miko dug her face into Jack's back.

"Damn it damn it damn it!" she hissed, "Come on! Can't you do that Maximum Overdrive crap that Optimus does!"

"Maybe, but I doubt I need to considering who's tailing us," Arcee told her worried passenger, "Now let's just pull over and-"

"Hell no!" Miko exclaimed. Not giving the Cybertronian much more of a choice, the girl slammed her foot into the gas pedal rocketing them forward. The base was just a few yards ahead!

"HEY!" Arcee cried trying to brake. All it did was create a nasty skid mark in their path, "This is my body and my choice of what happens! Now you let up right now!" To her amazement, Miko actually did as she was told. Arcee would have to wait another day to toss her to the side of the road.

"Alrighty," Miko smiled. She'd done what she'd wanted to. They'd gotten close enough now to the rocky disguised walls so that they were opening and had no real choice other than to enter. What the Asian didn't take into account was that the government agent would just follow them right on in. "Come on!" she practically tackled Jack off the bike as Arcee slowed, "We gotta-"

"Now why am I being dragged out here?" Fowler asked from where he'd parked. He never received an answer. June was still in hot pursuit of the teenagers.

"Oh hey guys-"

"Hi Raf!" Miko and Jack said as they zoomed by him.

"...oh hi Mrs.-"

"Hi Rafael!" June greeted in a similar manner. The youngest of the group shook his head. His friends always seemed to be in trouble. Eventually, Jack and Miko stumbled to a stop at a storage room door, their breath ragged from the running. Hesitantly they looked around. They couldn't see anyone else.

"Do you...think we...lost her?..." Miko asked through her gasps. Jack's eyes went wide from a tap on his shoulder. He gulped and turned. Crouched over in front of them with her hand on the wall for support and panting just as much as them was his mom.

"Y-you two...hold it...please..." June pleaded. Now that Jack could see her up close he noticed quite a bit of dark linings beneath her eyes.

"Mom...are you alright?..." he asked. Miko gawked.

"Is she-is she alright!" Miko repeated incredulously, "You're asking that after yesterday?" June winced at the memories.

"That's...what I was trying to talk about..." she told them, "about yesterday...I'm real sorry...it's just I was drinking a bit and...well I was just trying to show my support and everything for the relationship. I want you two to be happy if it involves my little Jack." The boy tried to look away due to the affection his parent was giving him. "And with how I was acting when I found out...well you know you two didn't like that..."

"Yeah, and we like this even less!" Miko shouted. The teenagers immediately regretted the claim. June's face fell all at once, depression overtaking her.

"Mom, come on," Jack said quietly giving her a hug. Though still quite a bit disheartened, June returned the embrace. Reluctantly, Miko joined in too. "Mom...it's alright," Jack told her comfortingly, "it's just...we want you to be casual sure. Just not THAT casual." June's cheek's blushed a bright red. "Like how you were before you found out. Just...act normal." Bashfully she glanced at the two younger humans. A slow smile formed on her face and she nodded.

"Alright...I'll try..." she promised giving her son a kiss on the forehead. As per usually he tried to ignore Miko's jesting reactions. Feeling that she'd pestered the younger generation enough, June nodded again and started walking back towards where Fowler had parked. She was ready for a nice long nap.

"So "mommy", what all was the deal with "grandma"?" Raf had seemingly appeared at Miko's side and started taunting her. With a yelp he received a bonk on the head.

"Adult business," Miko responded cooly. Raf rubbed the spot that'd been hit and glared up at the female. Jack just chuckled and shook his head. The atmosphere, at least, had returned to normal.

-end of chapter-

Wow. It's been a while since I've had a chapter THIS focused on Jack and Miko's romance crap. Either way hope it was enjoyable. Doubt June gets drunk all that often, but this way my take on it: warahi deviantart com / art / Throwin-Off-Worries-308548370


	15. Any Way But Straight

Chapter 15: Any Way But Straight

Jack had to cement his hands over his ears to keep the high-pitched tear of the instrument out of his head. Despite all the good times they had, Miko really knew how to grate his nerves some days. Currently she was busy shredding her guitar for her audience. Namely Jackson Darby and Rafael Esquivel. The other kids of the school were quite accustomed to the exchange student's odd nature by this point. They knew it was best to just keep walking and ignore the hyperactive female. As for the two boys, they didn't have much of a choice. Aside from the fact that Miko would just ask where they were headed, it simply would not look good to the rest of the school community in terms of the friendship of their little group if they just walked off on her. Miko already got enough strange looks as was.

But sometimes...there were days that Jack simply could not stand her. This was one of them. He'd already said that he'd rather not be listening to another of her little "rehearsals" after the latest two nearly popped his eardrums. But Miko, being Miko, she just pressed forward and did what she wanted to anyhow, regardless of what others might feel about the matter. The annoying noise that might as well have been a cheese grater to him went on for about half a minute more before the girl finally took her fingers of the instrument, her face beaming with excitement. Giving a silent "thank you" to god, Jack removed the hands from his ears. He wished he hadn't. Seeming to have been waiting for the moment to strike, Miko came up close to him and blasted one last chord into his exposed hearing formations.

"MIKO!" Jack yelled.

"Geez, sorrrry," Miko lengthened the final word while the corners of her mouth curled upward. Jack shot her a nasty look. Even Miko in her playful state couldn't go unexcusing of such an expression. "Hey I said sorry," she shrugged before giving the boy a light punch in the arm, "You need to learn to lighten up. PARTY!" Gleefully the girl thrust her arms in the air, a "peace" sign on each hand. Jack rolled his eyes and glanced down at Raf. The younger boy gave his own shrug. Truth be told Miko did need to get under control. But her suggestion didn't go without reason. Sometimes Jack really just did need to relax and not be so uptight.

The boy in question of course saw things from a rather different light. Sure he enjoyed hanging out with his friends and everything and being a part of the Autobots' group, but that didn't mean that everything was always hunkey doorey. Had he not met Arcee that day he would have never had to put up with the secrecy of his new life or the complications that the new activities presented. And he wouldn't have to deal with Miko's constant obsession of bugging the ever loving crap out of him. She'd just be the same weird girl she should've been that he'd never have any interest in talking to what-so-ever and he'd be a normal boy with a normal job that didn't get interrupted. Of course he knew that if he had that life he'd just want the one he had now back, but dear lord if Miko didn't get on his nerves some days.

"Maybe you just need to learn to just shut the bloody hell up every now and then," Jack thought aloud. Raf's eyes started opening more as he noticed the girl's fists clench. Now was the time for him to make his exit. To his amazement, even as Raf was departing Miko wasn't losing control.

"Well at least it beats being some bland asshat that just goes to school and work all day," Miko shot back. Jack's eyes narrowed.

"Well I'm sorry that some of us have to be in the real world Ms. Foreign Exchange Student," he murmured folding his arms over his chest, "How's about you tell me how you're ripping your host parents off today?" Miko could've sworn she felt bits of her teeth grinding off from how much they were gritting together behind her determined face.

"Sure, right when you tell me how exciting flippin' burgers is," she offered, "I'm sure it must be sooo thrilling compared to hanging out with living alien machines."

"Not everything's a thrill ride," Jack stated, "You can strum your little guitar, but that ain't gonna help you much when you're living in a box." Steam could've been coming out of Miko's ears with how angry she was getting. She did have to hand it to Jack. When he tried he pressed all of her buttons at once. That was why she was partly glad that he was nowhere near as hyperactive as she was.

"Yeah, well...well...whatever," Miko gave in. Jack blinked. She didn't have anything to come back with?

"Are you giving up?...just like that?..." Jack asked partly astonished. Miko gave quite a dirty look at him in response. Before she could talk back, if she had any material, the bell for class rang.

* * *

"And you-you're sure this'll work?" Starscream gulped. Sideways gave a shrug. Furiously the Seeker grabbed the purple Transformer by the shoulders and shook him. "Give me an answer! You don't know what it's like to answer to Megatron!" Sideways lifted his arms up and pushed the Cybertronian's grip off of him.

"I've handled worse, believe me," Sideways assured him, "And besides, you're a Starscream. Shouldn't you be used to this kind of crap by now?"

"Doesn't mean I enjoy it!" the Decepticon exclaimed. Sideways just shook his head. Of course it had to be THAT kind of Starscream that he was manipulating this time. It couldn't be the one that was courageous and full of honor. No, that'd make things too easy...

"Look. Just get Megatron's attention and have him fly on down here. Once he and his cons notice the signature of the fake Chaos Edge replica I've planted they'll try and go for it. I sneak up, and bam! Rageful Primus-hating Galvatron-persona!" Sideways practically burst out laughing in malicious glee. Starscream backed up a bit from the suddenly crazed Transformer. He'd already been doubting the alliance prior to the insane plan that the purple one had concocted.

"And uh...the fake Chaos Edge thingy?" Starscream inquired.

"Oh nothin' to worry bout. First bot that touches it gets Dark Energon pumped into them and helps with the destruction Megs'll cause," Sideways scoffed, "trust me Screamer-boy. It'll work. Just go get that jackass's attention and we'll be in business. Remember, this'll help get him further infected. Once he's outta the picture..."

"...Lord Starscream..." the Seeker dreamed aloud.

"Right..." Sideways nodded, "now get to work."

"Of course!" Starscream gave a salute before transforming into vehicle-mode and flying off.

"...dumbass." Sideways murmured.

* * *

"Jack!" Miko cried. The boy just kept walking. Now that the day was over and the students were all going their separate ways they had to talk. If they didn't settle things there then all it would do is tear them apart until they inevitably had to later on. "Come on Jack! Wait up will ya? We need to talk!" Knowing that she wouldn't stop till she had her way, Jack closed his eyes and sighed. Miko came to a stop taking in gulps of air in front of him. "I...just...hold on one...phew!..." she managed between gasps. Ever since the bell had dismissed the students she'd been running.

"You being chased by Knockout or something?" Jack mused. Miko gave him a suspicious smile.

"So, looks like we don't have to talk. You're back to being Mr. Humorously Berate the Asian Girl without my help," she figured. Jack rolled his eyes. Miko knew it wouldn't be that easy. But that didn't mean she had to be predictable about the whole matter. In front of her Jack was tapping his foot impatiently. She knew just what to tell him. "Alright Jack, don't worry. I forgive you," she grinned. Jack's eye twitched.

"Y-you forgive me!" he exclaimed in disbelief, "I'm sorry Miko, but it's supposed to be the other way around." Miko did her best to repress the laughter building in her throat.

"Oh, well in that case I thank you for being so reasonable about the whole thing. You really must have a soft spot for me to get over it so quickly," she giggled. Jack's look of shock had changed to that of reluctant amusement. Yes she was being annoying...but Jack also somewhat liked the humor. Somehow she realized on some level how his nature was. So she was joking about the whole thing...still, the apology wasn't ever fully stated.

"Well someone has to have the level head to keep you from being stupid at every possible chance," Jack exchanged assumptions. Jack was now sharing in the grin. Miko may have been annoying, but it was their bond that allowed him to join in on the insults and jests without as negative of repercussions that would logically follow for anyone else that made jabs at the overactive female. Instead her grin grew.

"So, you feel-" Miko's voice was cut off by that of another female. A pang of annoyance rising, the Asian girl turned her head to see the American one that Jack was now blushing at.

"Hey Jack," Sierra waved as she walked down the front steps of the school, "You busy?" Miko could hear his breathing intensify the closer that she got. Annoyance, fear, jealousy...these were only some of the emotions swirling around inside Miko's head. Every last speck of her mind urged her to attack the red-haired female.

"N-no!" Jack finally gave a responding yelp. Miko's face dropped. But he'd only said one word. It's not like he-

"Oh good," Sierra nodded coming to a stop in front of him, "I just wanted to know if maybe you wanted to hang out tomorrow." She ended the sentence with a wink. Jack could keep a thermos warm with how hot he was getting.

"Sure!" he replied excitedly.

Okay. Now he'd done it. Miko knew exactly where this was going if she didn't do something about it.

"What time do you wan-"

"Will you excuse us for a moment?" Miko asked grabbing her friend by the arm. Sierra started to say something as Miko dragged the boy off out of sight behind the stairs that lead up to the school entrance.

"Miko! What the hell!" Jack growled pulling his arm back. One look was all he needed at the girl's glaring face to recede a step. He hardly ever saw her with such an angry face. Annoyed? Yes. This pissed off? Hardly.

"That's what I should be asking you," she spat jabbing an accusing finger at him. The blush of Jack's face returned, but this time more for shame. But...it wasn't like anything had happened. Miko was just overreacting...as usual...

"Well I was talking to Sierra, which you always seem to interrupt," he told her as cooly as possible. Miko's glare only worsened.

"And you know why I interrupt it," Miko stated. Jack bit his lower lip lightly. "Perhaps you can say why if you have the nerve to," she offered. Jack searched his head for a few moments. Even though he knew exactly where to find the answer he had convinced himself not to. The conclusion that he came to was that he just wanted to talk to Sierra...that was all... "Alright fine," she dropped her arms to her sides, "It's cause you gonna try to get into her panties when you already got something to tap." And his face turned redder.

Miko knew that everything she was saying was one-hundred percent correct. It was obvious from day-one that he had the hots for Sierra and she knew that it wouldn't go away all that quickly. But to have the nerve to agree to "hang out" with Sierra while blushing in front of Miko...and to do so so excitedly?...it made her feel ill. Jack on the other hand was in a moral dilemma all his own. Yes he could mess up every now and then. That he admitted...but to have Miko point it out? To have her be the one being right without doubt?...it simply wasn't...right. HE was the one that was supposed to keep HER out of trouble! Not the other way around!

"Honestly...I don't see why you should care," Jack told her. Miko's jaw dropped. "I mean it's not like you are THAT great a "partner" and you do do nothing but get on my nerves any chance you get!" Miko tried to interrupt a few times but he just kept going. She knew it'd been a long time coming. She just always hoped that he didn't have the guts to ever bring up all the shortcomings he continually got fed up with. "Added to that, I doubt you even really care all that much. Yeah, we have fun in bed and everything and sometimes we still have fun hanging out with movies and all that...but really? Has that actually been REAL or has that been just to have fun? Cause that's all you seem to live for! Good times in the moment, never thinking about the future! We may call what we do "dating", but so do celebrities that get together cause they're popular!" Miko felt a lump forming in her throat. The anger she'd felt from him this morning when she'd played her guitar was reemerging after her attempts to get things back to normal between them.

"Truthfully Jack, part of the reason I went for you in the first place was cause I thought you, out of ANYONE, would be the person that'd be able to tolerate me!" Miko snapped back. By this point both teenagers were red in the face with their fists clenched tightly.

"Well shock and amaze, I can't!" he yelled back, "And do you know why people can't stand you? Because you are fucking annoying!" The smacking sound echoed slightly in the more enclosed space that Miko had dragged them to. Slowly Jack lifted a hand to the cheek she had slapped. Tears in her eyes, the Asian girl walked away towards the green car that was supposed to be their ride that day. Jack could hear it wheel off after about half a minute at which point he closed his eyes, a tear slipping through one of his own.

"Jack?" he heard Sierra ask after a few minutes. His mind a mess, Jack turned to her and forced a smile. "You okay?" she asked noticing the redness of his cheek. He just looked at the ground. "...you think you're still up for hanging out tomorrow?..." she persisted in spite of the more solemn atmosphere.

"...yeah..."

* * *

Sideways tapped his foot. For being the previous second-in-command, Starscream sure seemed to be taking his sweet time locating Megatron and his base. One thing he could never understand though was why Starscream was EVER the second-in-command long enough for the cons to get to Earth. Logically each Starscream should've been thrown out an air-lock on the way to the human-infested planet at the latest. Regardless, it certainly always helped matters. A traitor to the leader of the Decepticons was just what those playing against them needed to stir up trouble amongst the ranks. Sideways was about to just sit down and rest when he finally saw a jet-trail headed his way with numerous crafts on its tail. A silver one led the attack-squad.

"Well...better get to work...at least the Author's paying attention to things that actually matter this chapter," Sideways murmured to himself.

Starscream didn't know when he'd last been so scared. It was insanity to infiltrate the Nemesis when he'd run into the amnesia-induced Optimus Prime and it was insanity again. Megatron was relentless. Wherever Starscream flew he flew. Wherever he dodged, Megatron did the same. He was an unshakable predator without a distraction. Fortunately he was coming up on the point at which Sideways was supposed to meet him...and saw no sign of the purple Transformer!

"That backstabbing traitor!" Starscream cried, "I knew I should've never trusted someone with his name!" Just in the nick of time, the Seeker pulled up to avoid colliding with a rock wall. He may not have been able to outmaneuver Megatron, but he certainly wasn't going to be done in by some natural accident. The silver titan did the same. He however wasn't as lucky. The moment he cleared the cliff he was yanked back down by an unbreakable grip. The force of the pull morphed him back into robot-mode which he hung in by his shoulder.

"Hey there bucket-head," Sideways smiled at his prey. Megatron had only a few moments to comprehend just who the Transformer holding him was before he heard a tearing noise. Looking down he could see the hand that his assailant had used to shove the large Dark Energon Crystal into his Spark-Chamber. "Unicron wants you."

* * *

"...and that's it?" Arcee asked flatly, "...you're just...ending the relationship right there?" She could Jack's hands tighten a bit on her handles.

"I guess so," Jack muttered back, "I mean she's inconsiderate, hot-tempered, and...just shouldn't be in a relationship with me..."

"You don't mean that," Arcee told him, "She might annoy you and she might annoy me and by The Pit, she might annoy pretty much EVERYONE, but you don't mean that. You're just fawning over that Sierra girl. Now whether or not you two could work together, who do you actually know and interact with and everything? Who have you risked your life for on more than one occasion? I might not be a human, but I am a girl and I think I know how bad Miko might be feeling. Personally, as your partner, I'm pretty disappointed in you right now." Beneath Jack's helmet his mouth hung slightly. He'd never had Arcee lecture him like that before, especially not about the girl they'd been talking about.

"I doubt you understand," Jack insisted on his logic. Arcee just mentally sighed and decided to drop the argument. It was something that the humans would have to work out amongst themselves. She knew how stubborn Jack could be when he had his mind set and simply didn't have the energy to deal with it right now. Not after having been contacted about the new mission. Wordlessly, the pair rolled to a stop in the lobby of the base. To Jack's surprise everyone was gathered there, something that his metallic blue companion had forgotten to enlighten him about. Ratchet and Optimus Prime were the only ones that didn't acknowledge them even after Arcee had transformed.

Bulkhead took one step towards the boy, a rather tense expression on his face, before Arcee stepped between them and lifted one of her firearms to his chin. Arcee may not have exactly agreed with Jack's actions, but she was still his guardian and friend. And with how accident-prone the green giant was, there was no way she was letting him give Jack a piece of his mind. This was a dispute between the humans, not them. Slowly Arcee shook her head causing Bulkhead to ease off. That did nothing to change his mood, but it did ensure that Jack wouldn't suffer any... "accidental" stomping.

The boy himself though...probably wouldn't have even moved as Bulkhead dealt out the punishment. Though he wouldn't admit it...part of him did indeed believe he deserved quite the payback for how he had acted.

"Well well well," Miko chimed slinking up beside him, "about time you finally decided to show up. With how Arcee blazed outta here you'd think someone stole your ride." And another part of him wanted to strangle the girl. "Course I can understand with how much of a jerk some guys can be," she chided on. Arcee put a hand to her forehead in contempt. She wasn't supposed to be on Jack's side, but she certainly wouldn't mind shutting the girl up herself at the moment. Why Miko antagonized Jack further was a complete mystery to her. "But you wouldn't know anything about that would yo-erk!" Miko suddenly found herself staring into Jack's angered eyes as he yanked her by the collar up to his eye-level. Bumblebee and Arcee automatically held Bulkhead back.

"Excuse me!" Ratchet's voice dispensed the tension. Under the gaze of the older members, everyone else let go of the ordeal for the time being and stood at attention. "Thank you..." he murmured eyeing each one of them other than Raf carefully, "Now can anyone repeat what we just said?" The Autobots, Jack, and Miko glanced at each other. No one gave any support. The medic sighed.

"An ancient artifact used by Nexus Prime known as the Chaos Edge has been located by the Decepticons. If found, they could very easily use the blade to slash through our already waning numbers," Optimus Prime repeated the mission, "We go in, get it, and get out. Simple and easy. So Autobots-" Miko climbed onto a portion of Bumblebee that she knew would morph into the seats of his vehicle-mode. "-Transform-" Raf started heading towards his partner to get the human off. "-and Roll Out!" While the Ground Bridge formed, the Autobots morphed into vehicle-mode. Just before Raf could reach the car it sped off with the others. Fortunately, the other boy had opened the door of the other side and was holding on for dear life as the vessel picked up speed. Right as the flash occurred to indicate that they'd entered their destination, Jack slipped in and pulled the door shut. Miko gagged from the arm that wrapped around her throat. This wasn't like when they played around. No, he was back to being the responsible no-nonsense leader of the humans...only now he was wanting to take out all the annoyance that she'd dealt to him throughout the day on her.

"We go back NOW!" he ordered.

"Oh piss off!" Miko choked flinging her arm back. To her relief the hand smacked him right between the eyes loosening his grip on her. The girl's body free once more, Miko kicked open the door and hopped out. Jack followed in the same pattern, only he had the nicety of Bumblebee having slowed down in surprise of the sudden outburst from his form. Unable to see the passengers that had rolled into some foliage on the side of the path from his rearview mirrors, the car simply figured he had a small malfunction and got back to following his group. Jack meanwhile was in hot pursuit of the girl he'd taken after.

Desperately Miko did all she could to divert Jack from her trail. Take sharp turns, hold branches to smack him with, throw leaves back. But nothing worked. The countless times he'd chased after her before seemed to be paying off! It was only when the shadow of some alien aircraft flew over them that they slowed a bit.

"OPTIMUS!" Megatron yelled, a vicious foreign tint to his voice. But the humans didn't stop. It may have distracted them, but only for a moment. The chase was still on. And it went on...and on...and on... For them it seemed like hours that they ran, their joints aching and their breath shaky. All the while the sound of laser-fire filled the sky above. Every so often a tree would burst into flames or a rock would explode. And in the midst of toppling through a new pillar of smoke, Jack thought he had actually lost her. She was nowhere to be seen...at least nowhere obvious. Looking up a bit he noticed the girl at the top of a hill with a rocky wall next to her. She was trapped. Even as Jack approached her however, her confident look held strong.

"Alright...we go back, now," Jack commanded. Miko just rolled her eyes and glanced upward. Sticking out of the rock wall a few feet above them was some ancient-looking blade. Again she had stumbled upon an artifact...but she wasn't following orders. She was just as wreckless as ever.

"Now if you just give me a boost I can reach it," Miko explained. She was certainly right...but she was also bad. As always she'd disobeyed anything she was told in exchange for the thrill of adventure. All she'd done is annoy him all day...

"I said we're going back," Jack repeated. Miko blinked. Surely she'd heard him wrong.

"I'm sorry, I thought you just said-"

"I did," Jack stated folding his arms over his chest, "You need to learn discipline. This is not our place. This is the Autobots' job. We're just casualties waiting to happen out here. We're heading back. NOW." Miko tilted her head a bit. Then a smile formed.

"Oh...so you're saying you're a coward..." she mused. Jack's eye twitched. That was it. "So, you gonna help me or-"

"No," Jack muttered turning to walk away, "Do whatever the hell you want. But you can do it on your own." Miko's shoulders slumped. She certainly had not been expecting that. Soon her own body was filled rage. He wasn't even bothering to help! He wasn't responding any way he should have been!

"FINE!" Miko yelled back, "Watch me!" Though he knew it'd do nothing to help his cause, Jack did stay to view the girl climbing towards the glistening structure. He didn't exactly know why he was sticking around. There was just something about the girl. He couldn't just leave her...not like that. He needed to stay...to make sure she didn't do anything too stupid...

"Oh this oughtta be good..." Sideways murmured from where he was watching amidst the trees. Once she'd reached the final rock she needed to climb to get to the piece's height, she took in a few deep breaths and looked back down. Seeing that Jack was there, she glared at him and grabbed the artifact. One tug was all that was needed before she felt the dark energy it contained shoot into her. Every last nerve ending across her body was shot. The artifact shattered to nothing as she screamed in pain and fell back to the ground below. With a thud she hit. All former troubles of the day extinguished from the unexpected event, Jack darted over to where she'd fallen.

"MIKO!" he cried. Jack dropped to his knees upon reaching the body and wrapped his arms around her unmoving form. Delicately he cradled the figure against his, tears streaming down his cheeks. "...Miko..." Satisfied with the unnerving scene, Sideways slipped happily back into the depths of the forest.

* * *

"I-I knew someday she'd...she'd...and I wasn't there to...I let her..." Miko heard a distant voice stuttering. The girl looked around. All she saw was white. It burned.

"Jack...you can't blame yourself...you know how she is..." another voice told the one that was in the sad state. This one sounded older and female. "Oh...guess I should leave you two alone for now...and uh...just try not to be too mad at her or anything..."

"Mom...I know," the male voice sighed. The thing that Miko noticed before her vision fully returned was the touch. Something was squeezing her hand. Groggily she shook her pained head causing the whiteness to become blurs which narrowed into more vivid vision as time passed. But even in the most blurry moments she could see the boy sitting next to the bed, his hands holding her's. "...hey Miko..." Jack said quietly. As her sight returned Miko noticed the wetness of his lower eyelids.

"Heh..." she laughed lightly, "...well I sure showed you didn't I?..." Jack had no humor to give. As expected he was the one that worried. Certainly made up for how much she didn't. Feeling around with her free hand, Miko noticed something on the side of the bed. Her guitar had been brought into the room.

"Miko," the boy continued in his quietness. Delicately he brought her hand to his face and rubbed his cheek against it. "I shouldn't have been...how I was..." he said, "You're always annoying as fuck...I should be used to that...but it's just you...you drove me up the wall and then the thing with Sierra and then your stupid obsession with getting in the middle of the action and grabbing the stupid artifact and I thought...you...I thought I'd..."

"Jack...it's okay," she yawned before leaning upward and nuzzling her face against his. "You were being a dumbass...I'm always a dumbass...it's fine." Jack closed his eyes, his hands gripping her's tightly.

"No Miko...it's not fine...you almost got killed." Jack stated, a tear forming along the rim of his eye. Miko turned her head to the side a bit. It really was a good thing that Jack worried that much all the time...but she hated seeing him like this. She had no clue how she'd live with herself had the roles been reversed.

"Jack...I'm here...and I'm sorry...really...about everything. Not just the nearly getting myself killed crap. That's pretty much normal by now. Just hadn't ever caught up to me before. And I do promise that I'll be more careful and blah blah blah." Even though he fought against it, Jack smiled a bit at the lightheartedness that Miko clung to. "But I also mean the annoying you stuff...I just...can't help it...you're so fun to get reactions out of...that's part of why I like you so much. I figured someday you'd eventually get tired of it...but I just can't help it..." The boy blushed a bit.

"And I really should lighten up some...it's just some days you...well you know now. I do gotta ask though...why were you so relaxed in the base earlier after the whole Sierra thing? I mean you were obviously still mad but nowhere near as much as I thought you would be," Jack asked. Miko sighed.

"Told ya before...I'll support you if you really wanna be with her...I was trying to get over it..." she said solemnly.

"Miko..." Jack put a hand to her cheek, "...don't...I'm the one that messed up this time...well okay you always mess up, but mainly I was a jerk today. And you may be an annoying jackass...but you're my annoying jackass..." Joy flooded through her from the niceness of his voice. Unable to control herself, Miko pulled Jack into a kiss. A few seconds later she broke apart, her face rather bittersweet.

"Oh right...Sierra..." she murmured. Jack shook his head and ruffled her hair.

"Nah," he shrugged. Miko lifted her head in shock.

"You mean you aren't?..." He just continued to shake his head springing a smile back to Miko's face.

"Just hormones," he sighed, "All I have to say about all this is...do you really think that...whatever this is...whatever we are...do you think we really have a shot together?..." Miko's eyelids lowered a bit. Jack's face reddened from the seductive look.

"Enough of a shot for me to take," she answered. Passionately their faces journeyed closer and closer together. Just as the lips were about to meet again though, Miko reached over the side of the hospital bed, pulled her guitar up to Jack's ear, and blasted a loud chord into it.

"MIKO!" he yelled. The girl rolled over in a fit of laughter in her bed.

-end of chapter-

Well this is it. The chapter that TVtropes would like have a field day with. Out of Character, 4th Wall, and just my usual crappy writing in general. Regardless, here's the "drama" chapter I guess. And yes, to whoever asked, Sideways is an "Armada" Transformer.

Miko be practicing her pimp-smack: warahi deviantart com / art / Ouch-309055831


	16. Internal Dilemma

Chapter 16: Internal Dilemma

"Keep his arm down!" Knockout ordered. Cautiously one of the drones grabbed hold of the limb only to be tossed away. "I said get him under control!" the red Decepticon yelled. More willing now, two other Vehicons pinned the limb. Knockout thought it was finally safe to proceed when suddenly the other arm ripped free and slashed its blade around. Hesitantly he ducked to avoid the swing but a few of the others weren't so lucky. Agonizingly they toppled to the floor clutching their wounds. The medic contemplated turning tail and evacuating the room they'd managed to force their leader into. Knockout eyed the door. With how far away it was he likely wouldn't make it in time.

Fortunately there was one Decepticon in the room that knew how to keep the situation under control. With a gag, Megatron's head hit the wall behind him while Soundwave's remaining tentacle coiled around his two arms yanking them up where they would do no harm. Though he hated being upstaged by the silent Cybertronian, Knockout acknowledged the nod Soundwave gave him and dove for Megatron's chest-plating. Through the titan's hissing and yelling, he somehow managed to reach into the Spark Chamber's location and pulled. Megatron gasped and his head fell. The purple left his eyes while Knockout's expanded at the size of the Dark Energon crystal he'd retrieved.

"...Soundwave...if you would...please keep all the Dark Energon we have sealed up...tight..." Knockout requested.

* * *

"He's gonna die," Jack said lifelessly.

"No he's not," Miko replied just as deadpan. The character on the television screen wandered around the room bumping into the walls and furniture in the room. He seemed to be searching for something.

"Something's going to jump out and get him," Jack deduced. They'd become zombies. Prisoners of what they observed. Boredom had become their masters. It was all routine by now.

"No it won't," Miko said emotionlessly. Her eyes never blinked. She, as Jack, was in a state of conscious slumber. Their minds needed to be to take in the full of the information that the screen presented to them. Finally the character stopped at a note on a bed and the paragraphs on it magnified so that they could read it.

"Totally gonna die," Jack nodded.

"Totally not," Miko shook her head. The reading went on for about half a minute. Once it was gone they were finally broken out of their trance. A door on the screen behind the character opened and a corpse came stumbling towards him. "Oh fuck!" Miko panicked. Realizing he didn't have enough room to shoot the undead being enough times to make it fall, the character hesitated and tried running around. Inevitably the body grabbed him and began munching away at his neck. Despite all efforts, the character fell over. The words "You Are Dead" appeared on the screen. Jack was left pointing and laughing at the misfortune while the controller dropped out of Miko's hands, her mouth gaping.

"And THAT is why the old Resident Evils are better than the new crap!" he giggled. Miko's eye twitched.

"Yeah well...the newer ones are funner!" she retorted crossing her arms over her breasts. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, maybe to people that don't like using their head," he scoffed. Miko gave him a wide smile.

"Precisely," she winked. Again Jack's eyes rolled. "Even if the old ones do have the atmosphere and all that. Four's the best." Jack slapped his forehead.

"That's the absolute worst in the series!" he spat. Miko gasped.

"Like hell! That's Five!" she claimed.

"Yeah, and who're you copying that from? IGN? Gamespot? I doubt you've even played it and made your own judgment," he figured. The girl's cheeks reddened and her arms tightened. "Face it. Four has nothing to do with anything else in the series, changes the gameplay, and turns Leon into an ass."

"Yeah, a BADass!" Miko emphasized, "And besides, who cares about the story?"

"...that's not the kind of attitude heroes in this series should have. That crap's for Spider-man," Jack stated, "And the people that had been fans of the first...how many were there?...uh...five games are the ones that care about the story. Hell, Five has a better story than Four's crap!" To his surprise Miko was the one giggling now. "...what?"

"Oh this is why I love ya so much," she told him, her voice smooth as silk. Lazily she lied back so that her head fell into his lap allowing her to stare up at his confused face. "We just can't agree. It'd be so boring if you just had my way of thinking..." Happiness washed over Jack from the girl that now used him as a pillow. She may have known how to get on his nerves, but it was all in good fun. Gently he lowered his head down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Nature guided the mouths through each other. The sensual feeling spun across their bodies from where they now connected. "Really do love ya," Miko told him once they'd parted. Jack nuzzled his nose against her's.

"Back at ya...and probably moreso from me," he mused, "Though Sierra did sound a bit disappointed when I told her I had to cancel-"

"Get back down here," Miko ordered grabbing Jack by the collar and pulling him back down to her face. For them time seemed to stop while their tongues wrestled with each other. Even if they weren't as close as they could be at times, they would always enjoy the primal urging of their lustful states.

"You seem to be feeling better," Jack gasped once he was allowed the chance to breathe again. Miko's eyes closed happily. Even if she still regularly wore the clothing that she'd acquired at the doctor's office, it was mostly because of how comfy it was. Since the incident she'd been increasing in health quite phenomenally all things considered. "The bots still haven't found out just why the artifact contained Dark Energon...didn't take long for them to figure out it was a fake though...but still, you're pretty active now..."

"Hey, if Fowler can survive a Starscream interrogation, I can handle a little blade-thingy infection," Miko boasted patting her chest. Jack shook his head. There was that ego again. Luckily for her though, he wasn't about to let things get as bad as they did between them again. It'd be some time before she got the chance to properly get herself killed. "Bulky hasn't been giving you too much trouble when you head out there does he?"

"Oh you know how soft he really is," Jack chuckled. Miko joined in the laughter. Boy did she ever. Beneath all that stern metal and ruff exterior was one of the most caring Cybertronians on the team. Without his worrying Miko would've gotten herself into even worse shape than she normally did on her own.

"And you know how much he wants to crush Fowler sometimes," she reminded.

"You know that's only for show," Jack added. Tired from the banter between them, Miko yawned and let her head fall back further into his lap, her eyes closing. She may have almost recovered , but she was still quite a bit worn out from the event. Dark Energon is certainly not something she wanted to mess with again.

"Ready for a nap?" Jack asked in a hushed voice as he slid a strand of her pink highlighting out of her face. The only reaction he got was a deep breath and a slow nod. Already the cute little Asian was drifting away from reality.

"Boob massage please," Miko requested. Normally Jack would be understandably startled by the suggestion. But with how she was laying now he was too distracted by her cuteness. Gripping the small mounds of her chest lightly, Jack began to squeeze and move them around. Every so often Miko would let a small moan escape her lips, but for the most part she just enjoyed the enticing motions while her head remained cradled happily in her pillow. "Ya know, you should quit that stupid Burger job and go into this business," she told him. Her body shuddered from a sharp squeeze she received.

"Yes, because girls so line up for this," Jack laughed. Noticing the blush on her face, Jack squeezed again reddening it even more.

"Well they might not admit it," Miko gasped, "but even then...you'd have at least one customer..." Feeling that the motions had stopped, the girl lifted her head a bit and kissed the boy's stomach.

"Maybe I should come back later..." she heard June say. Instantly Miko's eyes popped open and she fell to the side of Jack in embarrassment.

"N-no mom, it's alright!" Jack assured her starting to unwrinkle his clothing a bit. The bashfulness was his to bear too. "Especially if it's an update on Miko!...is it an update on Miko? She's not going to die is she? Oh mom, if there needs to be some blood transfusion or somehing I'm sure I can-!" It was rare for Miko to be the one to quiet the partner in the relationship, but her hands proved quite capable of doing so. June had to cover her own mouth to bite back some chuckling to her son's reaction to the situation. He certainly had inherited part of her overprotective nature.

"Well yes...it's about her..." June answered, "But it's not an update. Her recovery's nothing to worry about." Miko and Jack gave each other confused looks.

"...then what is it?" Miko asked wondering what else might be up with her body. The sigh June Darby exhaled didn't give much of a good foreshadow.

"Well...dunno if I should really be telling you yet...don't wanna ruin the mood and all...but...while you were unconscious we took the liberty of examining you and all that, mainly due to how worried I am with you kids being in the kind of life you are...anyhow, I just thought I should let you know that we made quite the discovery..." the woman replied biting her lower lip. Miko lifted a brow curiously. "You're uh...pregnant."

* * *

"Miko, it's going to be okay-"

"Okay?" Miko screamed grabbing Jack and shaking him around, "OKAY? How the bloody fuck is being pregnant okay!" The boy's eyes wobbled all around in their sockets with each thrust. He had never seen the girl so excited. The only moment of peace that there'd been since she'd received the news is that short time that his mom had been there. Once she had left all hell had broken loose. Jack was afraid that Miko was going to pass out with how rapidly her breathing had increased. Then had come a stream of questions that Jack's mind simply couldn't process quick enough to give acceptable answers. Eventually, through the panicking and sobbing and crying, he had somehow managed to get her out of the house thinking that some fresh air might do her some good.

"...god damnit..." she pouted. Tears slipping down her cheeks, Miko pulled her legs up to her chest burying her face against her knees. Hesitantly, Jack started to venture an arm around her back when suddenly she reeled back and slammed her hand on the table in front of them. "SHIMATA! KUSO! KUSO! KUSO!" Miko cried. Jack jumped back in surprise from the sudden outburst. He could feel his heart skip a few beats with how much the water rained from the girls eyes now. Her body trembled and shook. Unable to bear the anguish that the girl was suffering any longer, Jack wrapped his arms around her pulling her into a tight hug. He needed to support her as a friend if nothing else. Pitifully Miko's head moved up and down against his chest.

"It'll be okay Miko...it'll be okay..." Jack told her quietly. Tenderly he nuzzled his face into her hair. He may not have been prepared for the situation, but he did know that he needed to keep her calm. It was his nature as the unofficial leader of the humans in the responsibility. Jack could feel the wetness of Miko's tears dampening his shirt. He nuzzled his face into her hair a few more times while his hand stroked her back.

"...that stupid pill...was supposed to work..." her muffled voice sobbed through his clothing, "Did EVERYTHING I was supposed to and...and.." Jack patted her back as the sobbing session picked up activity. Even through his natural level-headedness, Jack had never felt so ashamed. Beneath all the support he offered his heart shrunk. He was supposed to be the responsible one. He always tried his best to make sure things were done correctly...and he messed up. It was more than just disappointment for how he'd slipped up in the relationship. It was tainting for his very character. He'd messed up. He'd not made sure that the correct procedures had been taken...he'd just followed his instincts. And he, as Miko, had loved it... Perhaps that's what hurt the most...

Amidst the comfort and sorrow, neither teenager seemed to notice a green car roll up next to the fast-food joint. As quickly as possible the young passenger hopped out and rushed over to the table they were seated at.

"Hey guys, Arcee came and told me that you two wanted to be alone so she thought another human might be more tolerable in the situation..." Raf said getting their attention. Initially Miko shot a glare at the unwelcome intruder to the moment but had her face buried back in Jack's chest within a few seconds. Raf gulped. "So...is it true?.." the younger boy asked. Not looking at him, Jack nodded. Raf squirmed at the thought. It was bad enough to know what the...interaction between his friends was now, but to have THIS happening?...It was just downright sickening to him.

"...mom told us the bad news earlier..." Jack murmured through his mate's hair inciting more crying from the female. Now Raf's expression turned rather suspicious.

"...well, maybe we should head to the base..." Raf suggested, "I mean better scenery than your job, no offense Jack."

"Believe me, none taken," he rolled his eyes. It certainly wouldn't be suitable income for if he was starting a family in any case. Maybe Fowler might be willing to help...

"And some games will probably calm things down," the shortest member figured. Jack glanced down at the girl. The crying had lessened substantially, but it was certainly still there. Affectionately he kissed her head.

"You think you're up for it?" Jack asked. Miko sniffed a few times.

"...only if you're ready to get your ass kicked in multiplayer," she replied with a small smile. Jack smiled back.

* * *

Knockout swiveled the contraption he'd connected to his optic carefully. At his side was Dreadwing. Normally the air commander wouldn't be so keen to go to the medic first about a situation regarding...well much of anything. But when it came to their leader's health, or any con's, there wasn't much else they could really depend on. Knockout rubbed his chin and flipped to the next magnification on the device. It was a slow process, but it was the only real way to find out if the crystal he was examining had any uniqueness to it. And from what he was finding...there was quite a bit. Dreadwing's brows lifted as the medic raised the contraption from his face and rubbed his eyes.

"Anything?" the seeker asked. Knockout nodded and hung his head.

"The mineral deposits on the item are far more concentrated than anything on record as of current," he sighed. Spotting the commander's confused expression, Knockout rolled his eyes. "It comes from deep in the Earth," he summarized, "deeper than ANY place we've discovered to date...which only really leaves one possible option..." Dreadwing's eyes widened.

"Unicron..." he uttered. Knockout nodded.

"Exactly...whatever's going on is being orchestrated from the Dark One himself...and that's why I'm a bit worried about the situation. Beginning to wonder if finding a cure is even worth the effort now..."

* * *

"Mark another one up for the Queen of Gaming!" Miko declared. Jack tossed his controller to the side before laying his head back against the cushion of the couch. He might not have been trying as hard as normal to beat her, mostly to get Miko in higher spirits, but it certainly wasn't a pleasant duty to be tasked with due to the ego that was presented. "Aw cheer up," Miko cooed sliding her face up next to his, "Not everyone can be so badass. I'm Asian. It's in my blood!"

"I'm Asian, it's in my bwood," Jack mocked quietly. Miko snickered as she rubbed her face against his.

"And apparently I'm also rubbing off on ya," she winked. Closing his eyes, Jack blushed. "This is good. Means I'm making progress in getting you to be less socially awkward. This calls for a nice big kiss." Jack fell fully victim to the passionate assault due to his lack of vision. Had anybody been watching, it'd probably have been a rather awkward display to witness the boy's limbs flying around in surprise. That didn't deter Miko at all. She just kept up the act until she pulled back happily. It was always fun to get him unexpected. "You'll probably need to be if we're adding another member to..." Even though Jack knew it was coming, his heart sank when the girl stopped talking. The two teenagers turned their heads down slightly, Jack's following Miko's.

"...Miko..." he said quietly putting a hand on her shoulder. The girl just retained her descended view. "...it's going to be okay...I promise. You know me. I won't leave you or give up or anything. Even if you end up going back to Japan, I will support you...no matter what happens I will be there." At this Miko scoffed.

"Right...and how exactly would you get to Japan? The bots can't afford the loss of two humans I bet..." she murmured.

"Ground Bridge remember?" Jack nudged his head to the side directing Miko's eyes to the large gateway. Her mouth dropped a bit.

"...and here I was worried about never seeing you guys again if I left," she chuckled to herself lightly. For what felt like minutes the two shared each other's company in solemn silence, their minds sifting through the incomprehensible chaos of the future.

"...Miko..." Jack was the first to speak assuming that the girl was dwelling on the thoughts that he was, "whatever happens happens...nothing we can do to change it...so how's about we just make the most of what we can?...alright?" Another spell of silence enveloped the duo.

"...okay," Miko eventually nodded. A supportive smile accompanying it, Jack pulled Miko into a tight hug.

"...I take it I'm ruining the moment again?" Raf questioned. Blushing, the two collapsed to opposite ends of the couch. Casually the smallest member hopped up onto the now-free space and stole Jack's controller from where he had dropped it.

"Whatever you're doing's taking quite some time on the computer," Jack commented as the game started back up, "This last session you were probably away for-"

"Thirteen minutes," Raf stated, "And I call Jinjo." Miko grinned. Already she was in better spirits. To her gaming truly was the cure-all medication.

"Alright pipsqueak. If you really want the character with the weakest health," she laughed selecting the skull-wearing shaman of the game from the character screen. After about another minute or two of readjusting the settings for the match, Miko and Raf started up their round of the first-person shooting mini-game and started hunting each other down. All the while Jack watched the energetic display. With Miko every little thing was taken personally and had just as much attention paid to it as a military targeting a country with nuclear missiles. It was always such a vivid display even when viewing the female alone as she bounced around and shook the controller in her seat.

"...damn...it...why can't...I...hit you!" she grunted as she twisted around in attempts to aid her character's movements, "HOLD STILL!" Smirking, Raf glided his fingers across his controller with ease. Due to the size and speed of his character he had no trouble weaving in and out of Miko's shots. He could have finished her off sooner, but it was just so much fun seeing how inaccurate she got when she was enraged. But eventually Raf became bored of the match and pressed the button that anyone else would have long ago. With one last shot from his character, Miko's was caught in an explosion from the Grenade Egg and fell over dead.

"How the hell do you win with a JINJO!" she screamed throwing her controller across the room. Jack was glad they had the government backing them, otherwise their individual profits would have deteriorated long ago from how quickly they seemed to run through their luxuries.

"Patience," Raf replied happily, "And skill." Miko's teeth felt like they were cracking from the pressure she put on them.

"I'll show you skill!" she hissed tackling the smaller human.

"It's still rather...unnerving that human Protoforms are processed in the female's body..." Ratchet's voice interrupted. Blushing, Miko scowled at the newcomer lurching over them. "No offense...but I doubt this kind of physical activity could be good for the offspri-"

"I get it," she growled falling off of the young boy. Raf let out a sigh of relief while his hand lifted a thumbs-up to the medic.

"I take it you haven't told them the good news yet?" Ratchet asked. Jack and Miko blinked and looked at each other.

"That'd be a negatory," Raf nodded.

"...what good news?" Jack asked. Adjusting his collar, Raf cleared his throat and stood up above the other humans on the couch.

"Ahem," he started, "I just thought it was a bit odd when you told me your mom was the one that informed Miko of the...baby Jack instead of getting some official word from a doctor. So I did some investigating with Ratchet through some files and stuff once I got you guys gaming and...well...turns out there's nothing at all to worry about. There is no baby. Miko's just the same as she always was." At first the group was quiet. Nothing other than the game's idle noises could be heard. Then Miko's eye twitched.

"Then my mom-"

"THAT BITCH!" Miko cursed pulling at her hair, "Why she-!...wait...then that means I don't have to worry about beating you up!"

"Oh god!" Raf cried leaping over the arm of the couch. Miko quickly took chase after him. Jack slapped his forehead.

* * *

June Darby paced back and forth in the living room worriedly. All afternoon she'd been trekking the house. Her mind was racing. They were never supposed to leave. Jack and Miko were just supposed to stay put! It hadn't been until the door had closed earlier that she'd realized that they'd gone! And by that point it'd been too late. All she could do now was wait and worry. Who all had they told? What all would people think? Would Miko's rash mind end them up in some life-threatening situation from the sudden information she'd given them? Would they be more depressed than ever? Regardless of the repercussions, the end result was still the same. She would have to tell them the first chance she got. June's eyes went wide at the sound of tires screeching. Then she heard footsteps...fast footsteps. She contemplated going to open the door when all of a sudden it burst open, the Asian girl breathing deeply on the other side.

"YOU!" she yelled bending down to pounce at the woman. June put her hands up in fright. Thankfully her son was right behind the girl to restrain her. A few times Miko looked like she'd get loose from the elbowing and kicks she sent back at the boy, but he held firm. His mom sighed. She knew full well that she probably deserved the attack that Miko had attempted. Looking at her son didn't help matters. He was willing to keep everyone physically safe sure, but the expression he carried was just as unwelcome as the one the girl had.

"...I take it you two wanna talk?..." June asked spreading out a hand towards the couch next to her.

"Oh I want a bit more than that..." Miko grumbled. Jack was the only reason she got planted in the piece of furniture that his mom had shown them. Once they were seated, June took her own spot in a chair across from them. "So..." Miko muttered folding her arms over her chest. June took in a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"I take it you know that you're not uh-"

"The word's pregnant," Miko spat, "And no, we just thought we'd crash here for the night and that I'd attack you just for the hell of it-of course we know. And I'm not all that happy about it Mrs. Darby." June winced slightly as the voice took on a darker tone towards the end of the sentence. Jack put a hand on Miko's arm in fear that she might try another assault.

"Mom...just tell us why you lied to us," he sighed. June closed her eyes and gulped.

"...I wanted to teach you a lesson..." she replied quietly.

"A lesson?" Miko yelled, "What kind of lesson could we possibly learn from-"

"You're kids, and you're acting like kids," June cut the girl off, "Yeah, you take a pill. Big whoop. Doesn't always work. I work at a hospital, and even though most accidental pregnancies are due to teens not using the pills and whatever-the-hell-else properly, there's always that slim chance even if everything's done right. Now Jack here, I don't doubt that he'll be fine using condoms. You on the other hand..." Miko's eyes crossed at the finger that pointed at her. "You just do things for fun and would probably convince Jack not to use one simply for pleasure...so...I thought scaring you would be the best way. I never thought you two would leave the house before I got the chance to tell you the truth..."

Though still irate at the trick, Miko had calmed down a bit from the explanation. Steam still looked like it might come out of her ears though if provoked again of course.

"...keeping in mind I have no way of knowing where to get condoms..." Jack reminded. June glanced at Miko who hung her head.

"I'm sure she can help you out."

"But they're plastic!" Miko whined, "That CAN'T feel as good!" The girl's face shifted to the complete opposite of what it used to be from the look at the older female gave her. "But..."

"We'll be safe mom," Jack assured her pulling Miko into a hug. The girl muttered something under her breath and rolled her eyes inciting a squeeze from the constricting limb.

"Yeah, fine, whatever," Miko grumbled. June smiled.

"If nothing else, think of this also as payback for all the mischief you make and disrespect you give," the adult reasoned. The Darbys chuckled as Miko's expression flattened.

"Ha ha," she said dryly.

-end of chapter-

Well, almost at the hundred page mark. You guys are probably insane for reading all this. But Jack will probably always be there for Miko (or anyone that needs a hand): warahi deviantart com / art / Me-There-For-Ya-310107592


	17. Body Harvest

Chapter 17: Body Harvest

"Safe sex?...pregnancies?...this is the crap that's being payed attention to?" Sideways viewed his monitor in disbelief, "I mean come on! On this end we got this whole Xanatos Gambit thingy going on!...stupid overemotional drama queens..."

"Sideways, quit shattering the fourth wall and get your ass down here! The Harvester's almost ready to launch!" the smaller purple Transformer chuckled as he rubbed his hands together gleefully. Tarantulas had practically been bouncing off the walls the past few cycles with how giddy he was to put the latest plan into action. "We'll get all the history of this Earth and then bam! Autobots go bye bye once its collected all it needs to!"

"Suppose I should get into position," Sideways stretched as he approached the more human-sized Transformer, "Are you sure this thing'll work though? I mean it's been there since like...dinosaur times right? Would the connection even still be established with Unicron after all this time of being broken off?"

"Only one way to find out," Tarantulas chuckled, "You just better have the underground where my old forces are setting up the Space Bridge guarded."

"Oh believe me," Sideways said darkly lifting one of his cannons into view, "this'll be a piece of cake."

* * *

"So..."Jack asked finally having a chance alone with the girl, "...how was it?" Miko swerved her eyebrows a bit and put a finger to her chin. Nervousness built up in Jack in anticipation. Worry and fear coursed through his veins. What if she hated it? What if those simple acts of pleasure were the only things keeping Miko tied to him? Would she just cut all connection to him entirely? Would every moment of interaction from then on out be that awkward fidgeting that so many teens succumbed to?

"Eh," Miko answered moving her hand around in front of her, "Better than I thought it'd be, but still...like it nice and unrestrained the most." A smirk plastered on her face, Miko slipped her hand between Jack's legs heating his cheeks to a bright red. The two shared an understanding smile. Jack nuzzled his face into the girl's hair as she collapsed into him. "But dear god your mom is weird," the girl murmured through his shirt. Jack laughed lightly running a hand down her back.

"Trust me, you haven't seen...well yeah, actually yeah you have. Her being drunk is something I had never experienced before...at least not that drunk," Jack told her thinking the wording over carefully, "And something honestly I doubt I wish to experience again..." His hand tightened on her butt amidst the chuckling against his chest.

"She sure was something else...still can't get that night out of my head...," she mused quietly moving her head around so that her cheek was what was against his chest, "With her whole promoting us to get it on and the call me mom deal...I don't even know people back home that could make my eye twitch that well...oh and let's not forget the more noise the better. Believe me, I-"

"Ugh! Don't remind me!" Jack yelped. Miko giggled feeling the shudder that ran across his body. "That is something I just do not need to think about. My mom being involved in-UGH!" Miko was now laughing uncontrollably against him.

"Don't tell me that after her little statement of the high heels when she visited and asked about Optimus, that your mind didn't-"

"Not helping!" Jack gritted his teeth. Giving a final laugh, Miko nuzzled her face back into the boy.

"Sorry,You're just too fun to mess with sometimes..." she apologized, "...you worked up enough for some lovey time?"

"That's sounding pretty good right now actually," Jack grinned, lust flowing through his mentality, "But you gotta stop with the whole creepy mom memories..." Miko peered up through his shirt.

"I'll be a good girl, pwomise..." She cooed. Miko's eyelids lowered slightly as he ruffled her hair.

"And you obey safety rules?" he asked. Ever-awaiting their next session together, Miko nodded her face deeper into his chest lustfully. As if to measure her in some way, Jack pulled at each of her pigtails applying different pressures to them. "You mean it?..." he questioned in a hushed voice. Her own eyelids lowering, Miko nodded again, this time in a slower and more controlled manner. Her cheeks reddened a bit at the touch of Jack's lower body against her's. Their eyes slide to the side where a door to a storage room was. It may have been right next to where they played their video games, but the room had been thoroughly tested to be sound-proof to those that were outside of its walls. Before they could get up though, an interruption occurred.

"Fowler's here with a mission!" Raf exclaimed. Jack's eyes bulged as Miko squirmed all around in his lap until she finally bounced off the couch and down the steps eagerly. The relieved male shot the younger one a bit of a dirty look.

"...Cockblock successful..." Raf shrugged innocently. The taller boy evened his clothing out as he got to his feet.

"You are so lucky that Miko isn't the guy in the relationship right now," Jack murmured stretching his bac. Raf just smiled and accompanied the older boy down the stairs that the Asian had bounced down. At the bottom the two males were greeted with the rest of the team which had congregated around a platform Fowler was standing on. Miko was looking at the screen he was showing pictures on in wonder. On it appeared to be some sort of crustacean structure over a black starry surface. Spotting the final members approaching, Fowler adjusted his tie and cleared his throat.

"At around five o'clock this morning, our boys at NASA received some mighty vicious tremors from their sensors on our moon," Fowler announced flipping the screen to a large hole with the Earth in the background of the rocky setting it was on, "Something burrowed up out of it and started heading for us. What it is we have no clue. What we do know is that its headed straight for Jasper if we have our calculations correct. Added to that, shortly after it left its crater the thing started sending out countless structures that seemed to be latched onto it. We've already gotten the public into their homes under the premise that some military vessels are going haywire. Our troops are already combating these...things."

"Then perhaps-" Optimus Prime started. The man put a hand up.

"Not finished," he told the Cybertronian leader flipping the screen to a map of Jasper. At various roadways red lights were flickering. "The one's we're encountering aren't ones that were sent from that space vessel," he continued, "The ones that have arrived are from the sewers. Whatever that thing is is getting them here somehow through the underbelly of the town. We need to get some of you guys down there to shut whatever it is that's spewing them out."

"And that's where we come in!" Miko cheered hopping a good five feet off the ground. Jack pu a hand to his forehead. Already it wasn't boding well. If they were having to bring military force in to handle these things on the surface...dear lord, he could only pray he could keep her under control.

"Why not get your men or you to go down there?" Jack hoped he could find an exception for the hyperactive female.

"Kid, if I could I would. But as things stand activity's too great on the surface and it's best to have those that know how to work with Cybertronians doin it," he replied. The boy sighed.

"Chin up! I'm goin' on this little crusade!" Miko reminded punching his arm playfully.

"That's what I'm afraid of..." he mumbled under his breath. Slowly his eyes expanded...perhaps there was another excuse. "Wait! So you're telling me that we're sending two-to-three cars, a truck, and a motorcycle into the sewers?" he shifted his eyes.

"Yeah, that would be a problem. But fortunately one of them can fit down there," Fowler unfortunately replied eyeing the female Autobot, "And I'm pretty sure she's the most protective you could take aside from Prime himself." Jack let out a long sigh as he bent forward slightly. There was no way to win the argument.

* * *

"This place stinks!" Miko yelled. The boys in front of and in back of her both wished they could cover their ears. That kind of pitch was not something that they enjoyed being echoed right into their eardrums at point-blank.

"Miko, you know you could always strap your gas-mask back on...," Jack told her from the front.

"Yeah but...its so hard to adjust the thing!" she replied dropping the device to her side after a hesitated glance at it.

"Miko, you got your options," the shorter boy with his arms around her waist told her, "And what'd you expect? Spring daisies?"

"It'd be nice," Miko said, "...it is getting better though...still, if I could just get this thing to work with me...already has the Darth Vader breathing and if I could just put in some glowing red eye goggles in then I'd have it made! Ms. Death! Zombie-killer extraordinaire!" Having played the older-audience game that Miko had, Jack couldn't help but laugh behind his mask while Raf just clung to her confused.

"Gotta agree on the smell," Arcee finally gave some input, "Sorta makes me glad that I'm not organic. Still, some Decepticons could make worse odors and it definitely is getting much more back to normal-WOAH!" Raf literally fell off the bike from the sudden stop it jerked to. Quickly, Arcee morphed into a crouched position in her robot-mode and pulled the humans back against the wall. The organic members looked up at the Cybertronian in a mixture of confusion and annoyance until they heard the sound. It was like a faint synthesized bubbling noise. Following the noise to the corner they were about to round, the young ones spotted the shade as well. It was growing. The humans huddled together a bit beneath the Autobot. Their expressions went from worry to wonder in an instant once the object had come into view. Arcee's face simply dropped.

Hovering above the ground was some sort of spherical construct, its lower propulsion unit obviously the source of the faint sound. Steadily its optical unit swerved around in its socket as it took in the vision of the humans. Then it spotted the Cybertronian. All at once it unfolded and dropped to the ground in front of them. What was now able to be identified as the cannon in what had been the upper hemisphere of the object was now the firearm of its left upper limb. The right one ended in a rather vicious claw. Though its feet were also clawed, they were much more stumped and less designed for combat from the looks of it. As for the head, the optical unit just remained where it was only now it rested more towards the top of the newly formed body.

Arcee gawked in disbelief. Curiously the humans looked up at her. The beeping sounds the more human-sized Transformer made drew their attention back to it. Jack gripped Raf and Miko close to him as it started to charge, its cannon-barrel glowing. Just as it was about to leap, Arcee's arm blades popped open and slashed it to ribbons leaving it to fall in a heap on the floor in front of them, internal fluids leaking out.

"Take off your masks," she ordered. Raf and Jack looked up at her in shock. "I'll go on ahead to cut a path through. You kids wait here until it's safe to continue." Before either male could protest, the Cybertronian morphed into vehicle-mode and drove off. Uneasily they looked at each other.

"Come on," Miko grinned. Jack lifted a brow to her.

"A bit eager aren't you?" he asked in a dissatisfied tone.

"Just glad that I don't have to suffer alone," she smiled. Rolling his eyes, Jack began to unstrap the device encouraging the reluctant younger boy to do the same. The instant it came off Jack gagged. Raf managed to hold his in, but his eyes told all that needed to.

"Ya know...it's really not that bad," the visually impaired member admitted after a few seconds of exposure.

"Oh it was!" Miko glared folding her arms, "The Turtles make this crap look so cool! Why couldn't we have run into their lair or something? I bet they've tidied their part of the sewers up!"

"Cause they live in New York? Which Is far worse than any small town like this would ever be. We were probably just in some rare concentrated sewage area or something," Jack deducted.

"Well you two stop using the bathroom all the time," Miko figured. Jack and Raf shared a dulled expression.

"Yeah, cause two humans can really be responsible for all this," Jack shot back.

"Every bit helps," Miko declared.

"Alright, then you don't go to the bathroom as often either," Jack reversed the position, "Only fair." Miko's eyes looked like they were gonna fall off her face.

"Like hell it is! I'm a girl! We go a lot more than you guy-AHH!" she ended her sentence in a scream. The two boys clamped their hands firmly over their ears as quickly as they could. Echoes really were a cool feature, but ones amplifying those kind of sounds were sometimes nightmare-inducing with how unbearable they got. "...oh...just a rat..." Miko blushed as she kicked the small mammal to the side, "Thought it was a spider...sorry..." Raf could only shake his head at the poor creature hoping it was alright as it hobbled off.

"Remind me never to take you on a mission dealing with Airachnid..." Jack murmured.

"Hehe...," the girl blushed, "...how long do you think Arcee will take?..." Miko had asked the question hoping to divert the conversation from her phobia. Before either boy could answer they were blinded. Surprised by the illumination from behind her, Miko turned to look as well. "...well guess that answers that," Miko said to herself upon making out the shape of the bike that the lights belonged to. Jack on the other hand wasn't as calm. He could see more than just the shape of the vehicle. And he knew it wasn't Arcee. This one was yellow and purple. Eagerly its engine revved. Miko hopped back as it lurched forward.

"Hey! I know I'm a bitch sometimes but I'm still on your team!" she growled. Again it jerked towards them. This time Miko took a few steps back.

"That's not Arcee!" Jack yelled, "RUN!"

The motorcycle's wheels spun quickly.

* * *

"Now just what is this?" Arcee wondered aloud. Casually she brushed the miniscule mechanoid spiders that skittered across the archway aside before bending down to stick her head into the room within. "...by the Allspark..." What she found was the most gorgeous view she had ever had of her new home. The rest of the setting though drove an uneasy jolt through her inner workings. The entire structure that the window was held in was darkish and purple...and pulsing. The walls and floors were covered in what could only be described as veins...almost like...like...

"...Unicron..." Arcee gulped. The Cybertronian thought about venturing further in upon noticing that there seemed to be no more Mini-cons left to evacuate through the portal. But as things stood the corridors leading out of the initial room were way too small even for her vehicle-mode sometimes and that wasn't even taking into account the size of the gate.

"Crazy motorcycle lunatic!" she heard Miko cry.

"The humans..." the female Autobot said quietly. Surely they were small enough. It was a mission that Fowler had made clear that they were a better use for...but could she really trust it in their hands? While she thought, Arcee removed her head and glanced over her shoulder. Running right at her were the organic members of the group.

"Sanctuary!" Miko exclaimed being the first of the group to huddle behind the large leg of the blue Cyber-Ninja. Arcee blinked a few times before looking upward. Sure enough rocketing down the hall that her partner and his friends had been tearing through was another two-wheeled vehicle...with no driver. Arcee flipped out her firearms and held them to the bike. As expected it screeched to a stop.

"Who are you?" Arcee asked.

Miko fell on her butt from the sudden transformation that took place in response. Even Arcee took a careful step back. The opposition stood a bit taller than Arcee with the only real remnants of his vehicle mode being the head of the motorcycle which hung across his chest and the wheels that clung at his back. Other than that the handlebars jutted out of the sides of his head just above his visor. At the end of each arm above the wrists of his hands were long gun barrels. Casually the purple Transformer put a hand on his neck and cracked it a few times.

"So, survived the Dark Energon infection I see," his smarmy voice chuckled as he eyed Miko through his green visor, "Doubted it'dreally affect humans like it does machinery. But oh well. Still was fun to watch. Like a bug hypnotically drawn to a zapper. You really shouldn't be a dumbass so much."

The Asian girl blinked a few times trying to process just what he was talking about. Then she jumped to her feet.

"...you know about that?" she asked.

"Kid, I planted the damn thing," he spat. "And I was having such a fun time with the reunion..." he continued pointing a barrel at the humans, "Now, how's about I finish the little chase we were having?"

"Over my Sparkless shell," Arcee growled pointing her firearms at him. Sideways' head lifted to the determined Cybertronian. Pain racing through her, she cried. Effortlessly his wrist-barrel had slammed into her cheek sending her flying into a nearby wall.

"I'm sorry, were you a part of this?" Sideways asked sarcastically before turning his view back to the humans, "Some bots these days, I tell ya. Just like to butt into every conversation they can. But don't worry, you got my full attention again." In a heated case of irony, a concentrated blast from Arcee was what interrupted him next. She had just barely pulled herself free from the wall. "And then there are some bots that just insist on interrupting," Sideways grumbled. The humans just watched the scene in awe. Never had ANY Transformer, save for maybe Megatron, simply dismissed one of the Autobots before, ESPECIALLY not Arcee. The shortest member in particular was quite intrigued by another matter though.

"...are you an Autobot or a Decepticon?...where's your insignia?" Raf asked the purple mechanical lifeform, not really thinking about his safety or the others'. Arcee's brows also heightened at the revelation. He was completely unmarked!

"Oh please," Sideways scoffed, " I don't go by such petty labels...unless it helps me of course. As quickly as possible, Arcee made her way to her partner. She'd never thought an attack from such an opponent would leave her so drained of energy.

"Jack, you and the others get through the portal and shut that place down," she whispered out of the side of her mouth kneeling down next to them, "There shouldn't any Mini-cons to give you trouble when you enter."

"Sweet! Sabotage!" Miko hopped in the air gleefully before pulling the boys into the portal. Arcee stretched out a hand for them to say goodbye, but they'd already disappeared through the gateway.

"...be careful..." Arcee warned the now-vacant airspace. "You really think they can stop this operation?" Sideways chuckled lifting one of his arm cannons to the gateway. Arcee's eyes went wide.

"With some help!" Arcee yelled. Like a spring she leapt into the purple figure knocking him off balance enough for the laser to sear barely past the gateway. It was only when Sideways had completely toppled over with the female on top of him that he focused on her. He didn't need eyes for Arcee to feel the glare that he was burning into her.

"You're starting to become a pest..."Sideways growled, "buzz off." With a scream Arcee slammed into the ceiling from the kick he shoved between her breast-plating. Mech fluid shot out of her mouth from the reflexive gag that came afterwards. With his path clear, Sideways hopped back to his feet and took aim again. This time the cannon fired downwards as Arcee landed on it.

"Alright lady...you wanna play?" Sideways muttered, a red glow emitting from where his eyes would be behind the visor. Then let's play." Without any effort what-so-ever, Sideways grabbed the female Autobot by the throat and threw her across the room. His footsteps were already getting louder as she skidded to a stop. It was going to be a more heated fight than most she took part in.

* * *

"...Oh my god..." Miko was the first to speak. In the silence that followed, Raf's computer dropped to the ground with a clack. The sight was grander than any they'd ever seen. It wasn't just some commercial or photo. Miko was actually staring at the planet Earth. They could make out the mountains and the clouds that swirled around the lively sphere and even some large cities! "...HA!Take that Mr.-I'm-Good-Enough-To-Go-To-Cybertron! I'm in space now too!" The two boys stared at her for a few seconds.

"...congratulations?" Jack replied. Miko slapped her face.

"No! You're supposed to be annoyed that I'm rubbing it in your face!" Miko whined.

"Oh...well fuck off then," Jack shrugged. While Miko continued to ridicule his performance, Raf took the time to pick his computer back up and look around. A rather uncomfortable cold rippled through him. The glow that accompanied the pulsing noise of the vessel made him feel ill. It felt like...a nightmare...

"Well I'm sorry that I don't match up to your expectations Ms. Drama Queen, but you don't have to make a huge deal out of every little thing that happens," Jack told her.

"Every little thing that happens!" Miko laughed, "This is space dumbass! That's Earth! This isn't just some little thing! I AM IN SPACE! This kicks fucking ass! Now acknowledge it!"

"...okay..." Jack shrugged. Furiously Miko pulled her hair due to the uncoorperation. The boy just smiled at her anger. Then it faded. The boy and girl stared at each other.

"...where are we?..." Miko gulped.

Their latest argument forgotten, Jack and Miko exchanged worried looks.

"We're in the vessel that's the one that apparently burrowed out of the moon," Raf explained as he set down the backpack he'd been carrying. Calmer than he should have been he started digging around inside of it.

"Well what're we suppose to do now?" Miko huffed, "snap some photos of Earth and head back?"

"Arcee told us to shut the place down...but how?" Jack wondered. The answer came in the form of a cylindrical device that Raf pulled out from his pack.

"With these," he told them holding it up, "High grade Cybertronian explosives. Transform for easier carrying. Ratchet loaded the pack with em before we left." Jack and Miko's eyes twitched slightly. He'd been carrying those around the whole time and neither of them had known?

"We plant em and detonate them after we get back. You should probably keep the detonator safe Jack," the youngest member suggested handing him a small stick-like device.

"Hey! Why don't I get to hold the detonator! I'm responsible!" Miko complained.

"...as I said, keep it, and us, safe Jack," Raf repeated causing Miko's brows to flatten in annoyance. Though thoroughly envious, Miko continued on with the boys, if only to keep up the presence of her reluctance to the decision. Aside from a few Mini-cons that the group would have to hide from every so often, the hallways were pretty much barren. When they would spot a patrolling one they would stay out of sight and place an explosive where they were sure that it wouldn't check once they'd gotten the pattern that the mechanoid was walking in down. The humans continued in this manner until they finally reached a change of setting.

Jack didn't have any time to react before Miko burst to life and rushed at one of the countless pods that lined the walls of the chamber. Fortunately there didn't seem to be any defenses. Miko pressed her cheek up against the glass of the pod as she peered curiously inside without any worry and received no recompense for her actions. Letting out a sigh of relief, Jack started towards the girl while Raf walked over to one of the only strips of the wall without a pod. It was just as unnerving as the rest of the complex, but there was a hole in it...almost like...

"An outlet..." Raf said quietly. Hoping that his theory was correct, the boy genius got to work unfolding his desktop and put the end of it up to the hole. Almost immediately it morphed into a socket for him to connect the computer into. "Bingo," he smiled. As he started toiling away at the laptop, Jack proceeded to give Miko his usual ridicule.

"Shouldn't you know by now not to touch alien things that you don't understand?" Jack asked in an attempt to pound some logic into her brain. It was a lost cause.

"And shouldn't you know by now how boring things are without investigating?" Miko bickered back, "It's bad enough that you're the one trusted to carry the detonator!"

"Investigating doesn't mean pressing your face into something that might be able to kill you!" Jack yelled stomping his foot.

"Well I'm not dead," Miko reminded spreading her arms down to her body for physical display, "not a hair on my pretty little head is hurt." Jack smacked his forehead in frustration.

"...that's...not...the...point..." he muttered slowly. As the minutes rolled by the argument became more and more about trading nasty looks than actually verbally giving responses to back up their reasoning...what little reasoning remained that was. Like many spats before, this one devolved into just the little annoyance that sprang from how opposite the two participants were. Raf had had about all he could stand though. Once he finished typing in the last sequences of the coding he was interacting with in the complex, Rafael shut the laptop and walked over to the other two.

"What's going on?" he sighed.

"Jack here's trying to keep me from looking at these cool sci-fi pod thingies here," the Asian claimed pointing to the one she'd been touching before the older boy had interrupted.

"She could've gotten herself killed," Jack insisted, "We don't know a thing about these pods, and she was practically hugging it!"

"Yeah? Well your face-" Miko started the argument back up. Rolling his eyes, Raf stepped between them and put his hands out.

"You two, shut up," he ordered. Surprised by the sterness in his voice, the older humans did as they were told. "Miko, Jack's right. Jack...don't provoke her any more than you need to-"

"I-"

"Said shut up," Raf cut him off. Pushing his glasses up the rim of his nose, Raf stepped towards the pod and pointed at it. "Been looking through the information that this place has on my computer," he told them, "These things are holding chambers. They're designed to capture natives of the area that's being harvested and suck out all of their thoughts before breaking them down to be turned into Mini-cons to serve the station." Miko and Jack turned to each other and blinked.

"...break down?" the asked in unison. Raf sighed.

"Essentially, humans will be brought here to be turned into Mini-cons," Raf simplified. Jack and Miko made "o" shapes with their mouths which soon turned into rather frightened faces.

"Then we really gotta shut this place down!" Miko exclaimed. From behind her back she pulled an ax out and lifted it above her head. "Outta the way half-pint!"

"Where did you-"

"Miko no!" Raf yelped. If there'd been time to stop her, he surely couldn't tell. Once Miko had her goal set, she was hell-bent on achieving it no matter the odds. A hollow thumping sound echoed as the blade hit the glass of the pod. A loud hiss protruded from the sides of the glass allowing the covering to slip back. Miko hardly was able to comprehend what was going on when she felt a shove. Raf had knocked her out of the way. In seconds the metal tentacles that lashed out from the back of the pod constricted around him and yanked him into it. The moment he was restrained the glass covering slid back over and his body froze. Miko and Jack hurried over to the pod and began hitting and pulling at the glass. It was no use. He was sealed in.

"...God damn it Miko!" Jack yelled. What happened next Miko did not expect. Angrily the boy balled up his fist and punched her square in the jaw. "THIS is the crap I'm always talking about!" he seethed. The girl rubbed her cheek in shock.

"...you hit me..." Miko said stunned.

"You just do whatever the hell you want!" Jack continued unaffected by the shocked female, "And now look! First your little Dark Energon infection, now this! Now Raf! He's...he's..." Finally registering just what Jack was throwing his tantrum about, Miko joined him in his downcast look. She never meant for anyone to get hurt, and certainly not someone that wasn't her. She just wanted to be helpful...

"As much I like to see you guys fight and all...you're acting like I'm dead," the youngest member's voice spoke. Jack and Miko looked around, their eyes wide. Raf was still in the pod, but he had spoken to them. "I'm in the system of this place," he told them, "Remember how I said it takes the victim's mind for information before changing them? Well I, with my computing skills, was able to hack the place a bit. Thankfully it's actually allowing me to take over part of the system now that I'm hooked into it. So if you don't mind just continue planting the bombs from the backpack I left near the laptop and I'll help with security and stuff whenever I can." To his dismay the two just stood staring at the pod. "...guys?...sometime before this thing reaches Earth would be nice..." he persisted.

"Dude! That is so cool!" Miko exclaimed hugging the pod. She ignored the audible sigh that the intercom system gave.

"...we'll get it done Raf..." Jack assured him yanking Miko by the shoulder, "Think you'll be okay?"

"Jack...I'm in a computer. ME. I am in a computer. This is my kind of domain. I'll be fine," the frozen boy replied.

* * *

Arcee's cry muffled into a gurgle as her face was thrust beneath the sloshy liquid that stained the underground corridors. Tension racing through her body, the female Autobot somersaulted as quickly as possible out of the creek just barely dodging a blast from her opponent. She had never in her life faced an opponent like Sideways. No matter what she did he wouldn't stop. Any attack she made he either dodged or countered. Those that did meet their target were met with little more than a passing discomfort for the purple and yellow Transformer. Ever since the start of the fight all she'd really done was get tossed around...but at least she was keeping him preoccupied. She couldn't let him destroy the only means she knew of for the children to return!

"Come on babe, it won't be so bad," Sideways laughed firing another laser past her cheek, "Just one blast and blam! You'll be free of this pathetic existence called reality. No more pain and suffering and loss of friends and human partners. Oh yes, let's not forget the humans. The fanbases always hate them. Just hold still for a moment..." Using what energy she could muster, Arcee transformed into vehicle-mode and whirled around the next blast. Sideways was insane! He just rambled on as if the outlandish stunts he was pulling off was normal! And the subjects he came up with to converse about? They were just as crazed half the time! Arcee had always worried over Airachnid, but Sideways was a whole different league of basketcase all-together! He was a demon!

"Just one shot. All it'll take to blow your processor out!" he laughed. Arcee toppled back into robot-mode from the next blast. It'd torn clean through her back tire! "Ah there we go!" he chuckled. Arcee tried to get back up but his foot pinned her to the ground before she could, "Now then, before I kill you how's about some ridicule huh? Always puts a smiles on faces...well mine at least if I had one...now where to start...ah yes! The humans! Though you hate to admit that they do annoy you and feign caring about them, I guess I'll get rid of the oldest first. Youngest is always reserved for last. A special cruelty."

The rest of Sideway's heinous acts were lost on the female Autobot. Her mind stayed fixated on the first claim he'd made. Murdering the oldest of the humans. Her partner. A sense of dread and hate that she hadn't felt since Cliffjumper's passing flowed through her newfound anger powering her, Arcee pressed as hard as she could against the ground. Sideways fell backwards from the slide she performed out from beneath his foot. Still taken aback by the swift movement that his opponent had displayed, Sideways could only stare at Arcee as she popped open her blades and slashed them across his face, their sharpness cutting through the inner workings of his skull. He remained slouched in his posture while oil, wiring, and mech-fluid leaked out of his damaged face. Sighing, Arcee sheathed her weapons and started on her way back to the gateway. A laser stopped her. In complete disbelief she turned around. The opponent that should have been offline had fired at her!

"Oh forgot to tell you..." the damaged voice stuttered. Arcee's jaw would have hit the floor if it could. The cords and metal that had been ripped open from her attack were repairing themselves! Sideways face was reforming! "Can't die," Sideway's voice returned to its normal snarky tone, "But seems I hit a nerve. Hopefully things'll be more fun now!" Arcee cringed as Sideways leapt at her and slammed his fist into her stomach.

* * *

"Alright Raf, that should be the last of them," Jack let out a sigh of relief. Sweat dripped down his face. Behind him Miko was busy pulling her ax out of the twitching Mini-con that had tried to stop them. Like its kin they had disposed of it once their presence had been found out about. Under normal circumstances they'd have easily been killed, but with Raf operating what he could of the space station Jack and Miko were able to traverse the astral structure with ease of their own. Whether it be activating defenses or crushing the mechanical beings between doors, the boy genius was there to aide them.

"Great," the voice responded from the intercom system, "Then you two get back to the gate and detonate the bombs." Both humans stood up and stared at each other. Had they heard him correctly?

"Uh...Raffy boy, I think you're forgetting something," Miko replied, "You're not out of your pod yet."

"I think I sorta notice that," he said, "With how furious we'll have made the Mini-cons by now I will need to remain here to make sure you two get out safely."

"What!" Jack exclaimed, "Raf, you're not honestly thinking about-"

"Suicide? Uh...I'd rather not...but there's no way all of us will get back to Earth through the portal," a hint of worry could be heard washing over the boy's voice, "I've been trying to work a way for me to escape also but...look you two just focus on getting out of here okay?"

"Hell no!" Miko stamped her foot angrily, "You may be a nerdy little munchkin, but you're one of us! We ain'-"

"Miko, Jack, go!" Raf ordered. Again the older humans exchanged looks. Ever since their arrival on the space station Raf had sort of taken charge, and for good reason. It was where his talents had really come in handy...but now...the thought of just leaving him there... "I'll...figure something out...promise," he said simply to get them moving. Jack contemplated joining the girl in her efforts to talk Raf out of his decision when suddenly another sound caught his ear. At the doors they'd come through the scratching that'd followed the Mini-cons they'd locked out was getting louder. More were piling up behind it!

"Miko," Jack said quietly putting a hand on her shoulder. The girl shook it off turning to face him.

"No!" she cried hitting her hands against his chest, "You don't understand! I'm the reason he's like this! If I hadn't gotten him stuck in that stupid pod he'd..." Comfortingly, Jack wrapped his arms around Miko allowing her to sob her face into his chest. He gave her back a few pats and strokes as her body bobbed up and down.

"Uh...really am sorry but you guys HAVE to get going...NOW," Raf told them. The scratching was practically in Jack's head with how loud it was getting. One glance at the door was all he needed to begin pulling Miko to the passage at the opposite end of the room that Raf had set up for them. Only a few moments after they'd made it through the frame of the passage they heard the door that the Mini-cons had been attempting to get through explode. Thankfully it snapped Miko out of her depression enough to get her running which Jack gladly accompanied with his own race.

In their minds the duo saw themselves as easily being able to outrun the mechanical beings. They hardly took into account the amount of laserfire that'd follow them. Nor did they anticipate that others would try crawling in through the folds of the techno-organic tissue that made up the complex. Jack's heart nearly stopped upon spotting one that tried to grab at him from the wall it was emerging from. It looked almost exactly like one of the creatures that Airachnid had kept aboard her ship! With one swift swipe, Miko chopped the warped being to death. Grunting, she tried to remove her ax but it was no use. Jack yanked her away from her weapon. Raf had initiated some security measures to pick off some of the endless stream of monsters tracking them, but they were just that. Endless.

Fortunately in the chamber just ahead was their goal. The portal. Quickening their pace as much as possible, Jack and Miko charged for the archway, their breathing pounding in their chests. A spider-like Mini-con was practically at their heels, its fanged front spewing lethal acid towards their feet. Just as it was about to seep the substance into Miko's sole a blast launched it across the room damaging it too much for it to move.

"Oh god! Spider!" Miko screamed.

"Don't stop!" Jack yelled. Miko had to hobble to get back into the run that Jack dragged her into. Knowing that she would just slow them down, Jack tightened his grip on her arm at the last second and led the dive into the gateway. They were back in the sewers, face-down in the musty flooring of the underground. But the chase wasn't over. Jack knew that if they'd gotten through so would their pursuers. Figuring that Miko wouldn't realize the obvious, he yanked her out of the way as quite a number of their assailants plowed through. Expecting the worst, he wrapped his arm around the girl and tucked his head close to her's. The inevitable strikes never came.

"Where's Raf!" Arcee's voice choked. Surprised that they were still alive, Jack and Miko looked around. The female Autobot had destroyed the Mini-cons that had followed them through! "Where's Raf!" she repeated more threateningly. Jack had almost completely forgotten! Hesitantly he brought the detonator into view. Miko and him stared at it for what felt like hours. Eventually, the Asian girl managed to give a slow nod and closed her eyes. Jack let a stream of air filter through his nose regretfully as he prepared to activate it.

"Done running?" Sideways asked. To Arcee's horror he skidded into view in vehicle-mode. Right in front of the portal. He didn't even notice the humans or the detonator they activated. That's why he was met with the full force of the explosion that blasted through the portal destroying it along with the space vessel that it connected to miles above the planet. "The fuck?" Sideway's voice could be heard scratching through the deafening tone of the fire that engulfed him and blasted him into pieces against the wall. In the roaring, tears slid down Miko's face as she buried it into Jack's neck. As he had done before, Jack stroked her.

"...what...Raf...what..." Arcee said slowly not sure just what to ask. She could see the looks of discomfort on the humans as approached them. She knew how hard it was to lose partners. Deciding it best not to urge any reaction out of the organic members, Arcee just morphed into vehicle-mode. It took some effort, but Jack eventually slid the moping girl onto the seat behind him. Save for Miko's pouting they rode up to the surface in silence.

As they broke into daylight for the first time in hours Ratchet rushed past them in vehicle-mode. The other Autobots had been doing their best to aide the human forces in the fight against the smaller Transformers which all now mostly lay unmoving in the streets. Eagerly a green and a yellow car rushed over to the group before morphing into robot-mode. Bulkhead was surprised by the sad state of his partner to say the least. Bumblebee on the other hand was just confused. His partner was nowhere to be seen.

"Bee..." Miko murmured walking over to him, "...I'm...real sorry about..." The girl's voice was lost in the loud crash that sounded next to the group. The Cybertronians instinctively flipped their weapons out and took aim at the purplish pulsing techno-organic canister that had landed a few feet away. With a hiss it unfolded and a human stepped out. Miko and Jack's jaws dropped. Overjoyed to see the boy, Bumblebee ran what little distance he had to to the pod and scooped the young boy up in a hug twirling him around.

"...that...was...weird..." Raf stated once they'd come to a stop. Jack wiped his brow while Miko began to explain their adventure to Bulkhead with no remorse now that she saw that the smallest member was safe with them once more. Jack sniffed the air and lifted a brow, His eyes trailed to his own partner and looked up at her. She looked back down at him.

"Arcee...you stink," he told her.

"Good to see you too partner," she replied. They smiled at each other.

-end of chapter-

Dear...god...this was hell to do. So, I got this thing about halfway done...and the computer overheated (was 95 degrees here for two days and we don't have air conditioning). As to be expected with my luck the file got corrupted, so I pretty much had to rewrite most of the first half from memory so I hope the shoddiness (well the more shoddiness than usual) can be forgiven.

On a lighter note we've finally reached past page 100!...oh and in case anyone's wondering yes, the title of the chapter is a reference to the video game of the same name.

Here's Jack and Miko in the space station: warahi dot deviantart dot com / art / Axin-Above-the-Earth-312006827


	18. Racing Demons

Chapter 18: Racing Demons

"So after that it was just a simple matter of recalibrating the trajectory of the launch and the pressurizing of the pod," Raf finished his explanation. Jack's only response was to blink and clean out his ear with his finger.

"...I'm sorry, could repeat the last part?" Jack asked. The younger boy grinned.

"Which last part?" he gave his own question.

"Oh just everything from the name's not Zippy," Jack told him. The two male's lifted their brows in confusion at the description that Jack had given.

"Wha-"

"I don't know why I said that either," the older boy confessed. A spell of silence flooded over the two until the third member arrived. Simply thankful to have the awkwardness dispersed, the boys walked over to the approaching car...but it wasn't Bulkhead. No, this car was one that Jack remembered...and one that he certainly did not care for with who was driving it. As he expected it screeched to a stop in front of the school.

"Woo! Hell yeah! Now that's how to ride!" Miko threw her hands in the air as the door of the vehicle popped open. Excitement still racing through her veins, the girl hopped to the ground in front of the boys, a smile spreading from ear to ear.

"And how to end up in jail for a day or two," Jack's comment dropped her mouth to an unamused frown.

"And give it up for the fun-time police," Miko murmured giving a mocking clap, "Can't let anyone fool around while he's there."

"Well why hang out with him?" a rude voice asked from the driver. Jack's eye twitched a bit. He didn't need to look in to tell who the person was, "You're way too fun to just waste your time with losers like them." Now Raf's face flattened.

"I can't help that it's so much fun to pick on him," Miko replied happily. A laugh erupted from the vehicle.

"I hear that!" the bully agreed, "Hey, how's about I pick you up at the end of the day? Drive around town a bit..." That was where Miko's conscience slapped her upside the head. Nervously she rubbed her arm. "Just a suggestion. Think about it," the boy chuckled giving her a wink. Forcing a smile back, Miko nodded her head and closed the door. Jack, and even Raf a bit, stared at the girl in shock as the car drove off to the parking lot.

"...what?" Miko shrugged. Raf slapped his forehead while Jack's mouth fell slightly.

"That was Vince!" Jack said grabbing Miko and shaking her, "VINCE! What the hell!" Miko looked to the younger boy for support, but the only type he seemed to be emitting was for the one that was shaking her.

"Normally I would say Jack's overreacting a bit but...yeah...that was Vince...the guy we cheered Jack towards beating in the race...the jackass that stuffs me in lockers..." Coupled with her own memories of how mean the slick-haired bully could be, Miko bit her lip.

"...he's not all that bad once you spend some time with him," she told them slowly. If looks could kill, Jack's would have. She'd hardly ever seen him so worked up over someone that wasn't her. "...pretty good body too from what I've seen..." she chanced adding more on.

"...what were you even doing with him?" Raf asked being the boy not blinded by the sheer sense of betrayal that had encompassed Jack's emotions. Miko brushed herself off after pulling Jack's hands away from her.

"If you must know he was giving me a ride to school," she explained, "Turns out Bulkhead was on a mission, which he better get me a souvenir from, and you two would've already been on your way here by the time I decided to call him. I knew he drives fast so I thought: why not give him a ring?"

"Because he's Vince!" Jack exclaimed, his face red. Possibly even unbeknown to herself, a grin started forming within Miko's conscience. Jack really was getting miffed about the whole ordeal!...and it was satisfying, even if just in her subconscious.

"Aw, you're jealous," she cooed. Somehow, Jack's face became even redder.

"Of him? Like hell!" he spat. Miko just giggled antagonizing the boy further. Raf could tell it was going to be an unpleasant day with the pair.

"Face it. You can't stand him cause Sierra pitted you against him and cause he did something as simple as give me a ride to school. You are jealous. He gets all the ladies with no effort." Jack tried to say something back but his throat was too tight to do so. All that came out were bits and pieces of sentences.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Miko smiled putting a hand to her ear. Jack gritted his teeth for a few seconds. Then the bell rang. Knowing that he needed to cool down, he turned and walked eagerly towards the school. Raf sighed. "Bit of a hothead today isn't he?" Miko asked out of the side of her mouth. She was quite surprised at the glare she received from Raf. From Jack that'd be normal. From him it was another thing entirely. "What?...can't a girl have fun?"

* * *

Knockout tapped his foot on the ground as he finished the rest of his Energon Cracker. Megatron's addiction...the odd happenings occurring...the Decepticon army scrambling to maintain order...it was all just piling up. All the pressure...thankfully Knockout always had a way to vent. Street racing. He loved it. The wind rushing past him. The display of such a glorious design defeating opponents and humiliating them. It was his addiction. And there were always people willing to test their speed in Jasper, Nevada it seemed. A smile on his face, the red Decepticon morphed into vehicle-mode and began his search.

* * *

As it had numerous times that day, as with any day, the school bell rang. This time however it was to dismiss its inhabitants rather than call them in. The sun was still quite a bit off the ground, but it would be going down pretty quick. Naturally the youth found it best to enjoy what remained of the day and clamored out of the doors of the learning facility.

"Jack!" Miko called looking around for the boy as the students dispersed. She knew that he'd be towards the end of the congregation. They usually were. She just needed to be far enough ahead that she knew she wouldn't miss him in case he decided to jumpstart his trek and avoid her altogether. Throughout lunch he'd seemed rather quiet and distant, a stark contrast to his previously heated self. The students that didn't really interact with them were just as dismissive towards the excited foreign exchange student as usual. Finally she spotted the black haired boy towards the end of the swarm and hopped over to him.

"Jackie Pie! Jackie Poo! Darling! Babe! Lovemuffin!" Miko giggled in a hushed voice with a grin. Playfully she wrapped her arms around his and started riding it up and down. Jack's face blushed at the feeling of her small soft breasts rubbing against it. Fortunately for him hardly anyone other than Raf was left to see the display of affection and he was on the other side of the staircase hypnotized by his computer.

"Lovemuffin?..." Jack questioned lifting a brow, "That's sorta surprising after this morning..."

"Hey, I was just fooling around. You know me," Miko smirked. Jack's dulled expression extinguished her spirits. "...okay, so MAYBE I overdid it a bit..." Miko poked her fingers together innocently. Her lower lip hung out a tiny bit in the cute display of shame. Unable to find the heart to stay angered at the Asian, Jack ran his fingers through her hair and rocked her head about slightly. "You really do need to be more of a man though, not be so sensitive," Miko decided to tack on a bit of a tease to the apology. This only caused Jack to roll his eyes which she giggled at even more.

"Well either way, I'm headed off to work," Jack told her, "I guess I'll see you at the base lat-"

"Hey babe!" a voice hollered that made Jack's innards squirm. Miko was the first to look over at Vince who'd pulled up alongside the curb. "Ready for that ride?" Out of the corner of her eye she could see Jack's twitching almost uncontrollably at the thoughts that passed through his mind. Though her inner self begged her not to, a grin broke out on her face. It was too good of a chance to pass up. Even without her he was getting annoyed...and he really could use some manning up. Some more bravado to show his dedication in the relationship. To prove himself. And he certainly wasn't going to display any dominance without provocation.

"Alright," she nodded. Jack looked down at her dumbfounded while Raf's head jolted up from his computer. He hadn't really been paying much attention, but he was aware enough to know that Miko had been apologizing to the older boy. And any agreement to accept an offer from the bully...simply was not right. Jack searched the girl's face for a sign that she wasn't serious, but all he could see was her beaming happy self. Had she just apologized so that he'd feel bad afterwards?...was she really happier with Vince?...

Curious as to how he'd react, Miko glanced at him. She could see the mournfulness and sorrow that swirled behind his eyes. The optical organs felt like the only thing keeping the emotions from flooding out of the sockets. But he'd tell her not to. He had to. He was the responsible one and she was...well..his mate. He had to refuse the notion or chance losing all that they'd-

"...h-have a good time..." Jack stuttered quietly before turning to walk towards Raf. Miko stood where he'd left her for about fifteen seconds trying to process just what had happened...had he actually allowed her to be taken by Vince?...did he really care that little for her?...after all they'd been through?... Miko looked to Jack desperately a one last time. He just seemed frustrated. Scowling, the girl turned to march to the bully's car and hopped in shutting the door behind her. As the car sped off Jack sighed again. Raf shook his head. He really needed to find a way to remote control his friends someday. Would save a ton of stress...and give him something new to play with.

* * *

"So...you sure you're alright?" Arcee persisted.

"YES!" Jack growled back hopping off the motorcycle. Having had enough with being pestered by the vehicle for the day, Jack started walking towards the doors to K.O. Burger.

"So you're just fine with letting your mate be taken by some jerk that does everything he can to hurt you?" Arcee continued to keep Jack in the conversation.

"They're probably better suited for each other," he shrugged not turning around to facing the talking motorcycle.

"Yeah, cause pairing HER up with some lawbreaking bully is such a good idea...you know you don't believe what you're saying," Arcee remarked.

"What happened to you not being a wingman?" Jack muttered.

"What happened to you being the one that looks out for the others?" Arcee countered. Forcing himself not to speak another word, the boy walked into the fast-food resturaunt and slipped into the employee managed sections. Getting his outfit together as quickly as possible, he soon relieved the other employee of their position and set himself up at the drive-thru microphone. For the next half an hour or so business went by as it normally did. On any other day it'd bore Jack to tears...and it was pretty damn boring that day as well. But it provided a much needed distraction from the complications that the day had brought. A break from teenage life. The shuddering boredom that was the adult world...at least for normal people.

This all came to a crash halt when Jack spotted a girl across the drive-thru waving at him. Sierra. Mentally slapping his head, Jack just waved back to her putting on the best smile that he could muster. Then he was interrupted by his customers. The routine in his head, Jack became a zombie to service and sent them on their way in a matter of seconds allowing him view of the female again.

"H-hey..." Jack started nervously.

"H-hey..." Sierra repeated a bit quieter. The two stared at each other until the next customer drove up to be dealt with. Once they departed Sierra took a few steps closer so that he would be able to hear her better. "How ya doin'?" she asked.

"Oh you know, just living life and making money," he smiled. Sierra flashed back her own briefly.

"Ya sorta seemed down today a bit...anything you wanna talk about?" she asked. For a while Jack thought the offer over. On one hand it'd be talking to Sierra...on the other...it'd be talking about his personal life...HIS, not just some normal person's. He proceeded to contemplate as he took care of the next car.

"...I guess," he sighed once the vehicle had driven off, "It's just...well it was just something between Miko and me today..." Sierra's eyes narrowed while the brows lifted in interest. "...nothing ya need to be concerned about or anything...she can get pretty annoying sometimes is all..."

"What exactly happened?" Sierra asked. Jack opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by another customer. This time while he served the inhabitants of the latest car his mind braked. What was he going to tell her! There was no way in hell that he'd talk to HER of all people about what he and Miko had done, and it wasn't something he could just cover with a blanket so easily like the secret of the Autobots! It was normal teenage life! Unfortunately he'd finished with the order before he could finish thinking things through all the way. Sierra stood waiting on the other end of the narrow path.

"...well...she just...was annoying...and uh..."

"Flirted with another guy?" Sierra finished. Jack could envision his eyes falling onto the counter from the guess. The redhead smirked from the look she received. "I'm a girl. I can guess these kinda things. And guess I have a bit of competition. Does she know you like her?"

"Whoa whoa wait! I never said anything!" Jack waved his arms around, his cheeks red, "never said she flirts with me or that I'm jealous of Vince!" Sierra's bemused expression caused him to slam his head down on the counter. Had he really just blurted that out? "I...uh...I didn't say anything...that's what I'm saying..." he managed to stutter in embarrassment.

"Uhuh...well then, gotta ask the question...do you like her?" Sierra asked deciding to work more from the ground up. For Jack however...that was a question that he needed to give some thought to. Did he really like Miko? Of course he cared about her as he did any of his friends...but did he really love her? Did she love him? Was it all just for fun in the end? These questions were ones that he could never fully figure out no matter how much he sifted through them. Miko certainly didn't have the appeal that Sierra held for his eye...but he did have a bond with Miko that he shared with no one else.

"Well...I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to her...and I would protect her and all that," Jack replied speaking from experience, "not to say that she'd ever beat you in looks and all that. I mean you-"

"Jack, stop," Sierra ordered putting up a hand. He cringed a bit. Had he said something wrong? To him she was possibly the prettiest girl he'd ever seen...and to have her just reject him would break his heart to say the least. "You can't have both of us," she told him as politely as possible, "If you get this all sorted out and decide not to be with her...well then we might be able to see what happens, but as things stand you sorta-" The girl was cut off by a new figure that drove up to the window, one that she remembered and was rather unnerved by. He certainly did have his girl troubles with the leather-clad female that rode on his motorcycle. "Your "mom" again I take it?" Sierra questioned in an unamused tone folding her arms over her chest.

"Why yes," June replied taking the helmet off that Arcee's hologram driver wore. Sierra and Jack both hopped back in surprise. Neither had actually expected the adult to be beneath the clothing! "Jack honey, Arcee told me about what happened today and I thought maybe I should talk to you about it." The boy sighed shooting a glare at the blue bike who lit up her controls a bit in response.

"Just wait inside," he murmured. Reluctantly he waved farewell to Sierra while Arcee rode around to the front of the building.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Arcee asked the mother.

"My responsibility," June told her, "You sure that you wanna talk to Miko?"

"...wanna trade?" Arcee offered.

* * *

Miko watched the street blur along on the ground below the vehicle, her hand on her cheek. Ever since she had left the school with Vince she had been depressed. It felt like a part of her had been torn out with how Jack had just let her leave like that. How could he, after all that they had done together, the endless nights of movies and loving actions, just allow her to be taken away by a boy that he disliked with every nerve ending? How could she mean so little after all of that? Granted yes, she was annoying and did deserve probably a fair amount of payback for all the mischief that she caused and got Jack and Raf involved in...but...why?...he didn't hate her...did he?... A guy was supposed to stand up to others hitting on their girl when that happened...and yet...he just gave her up...

Of course Vince had decided to chat with the girl again as he had that morning and Miko responded putting on a facade of joy simply to keep the boy preoccupied. He knew that he'd gotten on Jack's nerves earlier when he'd shown up at school. That was evident enough simply by looking at him. So he felt he might as well push it even further. After all he had been humiliated at their little street race when they initially faced off and stealing one of his friends was suitable revenge enough for him. But just how far could he take it?...

"So, I hear ya like Slash Monkey," Vince remarked over the roar of his car's engine. For the first time since she'd gotten into the vehicle Miko's eyes lifted a bit. Vince knew he had her interest now. "What if I told ya I could get ya tickets to an American concert of their's?"

"I'd say you'd be lying," Miko smirked, "They've already come and gone here. But thanks anyhow." Vince smirked back.

"Well sue me for trying to make a good offer," he laughed. Miko joined in though still reserved about the whole situation.

"You mean deal," she corrected once his voice had died down to a normal level, "There's no way you were making up something like that to just pull some joke over on me. What's it you wanted from me in return?" Though he knew exactly what he'd been thinking, Vince put a hand to his chin and tilted his head upwards in a mask of contemplation. Miko rolled her eyes. She knew full-well those kind of stunts. She was the master of them. "Not gettin' any younger," she yawned twirling her hand around on its wrist

"Well...could use some fine jewelry to sell," the older boy gave a false option. In her head Miko wanted to strangle him. She knew that he was dodging the real deal just like she would to antagonize her prey. She didn't like being the one on the receiving end. But she had to keep up the lightheartedness simply to keep the bully on a path she could predict. "But then again I could probably scrounge some foreign goods off ya. With how...wild you seem to be I'm sure you have some things worth-"

"Stop the car," Miko ordered. Vince glanced at the girl suspiciously but did as he was told. Without any warning what-so-ever, Miko yanked him into a tight hug and mashed her lips against his, her tongue easily separating his lips. Effortlessly she lashed around in his mouth. She had caught him completely by surprise. But he was reacting. His tongue was fighting back...but it wasn't...right. There wasn't any passion or love behind the act. Just desire. After a few seconds, Miko pulled back and plopped down in her seat smiling. "That what you wanted?" she asked. Vince blinked a few times.

"...can we maybe go a bit further?" he suggested with a greedy smile. Miko shook her head in an unbelieving manner causing her to notice something on her other side. Revving its engine next to the car was a motorcycle. A blue motorcycle.

"Hey Miko," Arcee's voice greeted darker than usual through her hologram driver. Had she seen what she'd done?

"Hey, isn't that that dork's bike?" Vince asked examining the motorcycle. Arcee had to restrain herself from transforming right then and there. She'd give anything to just tear the human out of the driver's seat and throw him a good four or five yards across the street. But she didn't. She had to remain hidden.

"Uh...hey...Shady..." Miko bit her lip nervously.

"It's Saddie..." Arcee grumbled. Chuckling lightly, Miko rubbed the back of her head. "Wanted to talk to you about something."

"Alright," the girl replied. A spell of silence washed over the group.

"...in private..." Arcee added.

"Oh! Right!" Miko yelped, "Vince, you just stay here for now."

"Bu-" Before he could finish a single word Miko had shut the door behind her and walked off with the motorcycle to the other side of a hill. Irritably Vince slouched back in his seat. The girl meanwhile was not in nearly as comfortable a position.

"Alright...what the scrap is this all about?" Arcee asked bluntly morphing into robot-mode once she was out of sight, "You with Vince and all that?...seriously, what the hell?"

"Hey, blame Jack, he wouldn't stick up for me," Miko shrugged. Arcee's brows furrowed. As with any other time the girl shifted the blame. She could never be the one at fault. In her world she was perfect.

"What do you mean stick up for you?" Arcee murmured rubbing the space between her eyes. She knew she would have a headache by the end of the ordeal. Giving an exasperated sigh, Miko put her hands on her hips. In her mind she couldn't see what there was that needed to be explained.

"You're a girl, and you had Cliffjumper. Didn't he tell other guys to back off when they made the moves on you?" Miko glared. Arcee's eyes shut as the rubbing at her head intensified. THAT's what this was about? Why would-

"Miko...you drove in to school with that jerk. What'd you expect would happen? Very high chance that he'd try hitting on you." Arcee asked. The girl kicked the ground lightly a few times.

"Well...what I expected was that the guy I was with would stick up for me...you know...like guys are supposed to?" the Asian girl shot back. She was determined to prove her side of the story.

"Yeah, well from what I hear YOU are the one that got yourself into that situation. YOU agreed to go out with him," Arcee's voice darkened substantially, her eyes narrowing to accompany the vocal intimidation. Miko gulped.

"T-that's no excuse!" she yelled back, "He's the guy! I did that so that he'd prove if he could really be a man! He wasn't just supposed to back down! He failed and that's that!" Arcee felt like hitting her head against the hill they were next to. There really was next-to-no reasoning with the human female. Even so, she could tell that the claim was hollow. Wetness was beginning to form along the bottoms of Miko's eyes.

"...you know Jack," Arcee sighed, "And I'd expect a lot better from you by now. Jack I'd lecture to cause I know how responsible he is and that I'd get through to him. You on the other hand I can just flat-out say are being a bitch."

"WHAT!" Miko yelled.

"You're antagonizing him in the worst way possible," Arcee explained, "Not just some game you play like normal. No, you're hurting him. You know him! You know he isn't like all those other thick-headed dumbasses that just get with a girl to have bragging rights or any of that scrap. He cares about you! He loves you!"

"Then why'd he let me go!" Miko growled. Arcee bent down so that her face was a few feet from Miko's.

"Why'd you show him that were interested in someone else?" the female Autobot asked back, "He's told me that you'd let him go if he wanted to be with Sierra right?" Miko started to say something but her tongue got caught. Her heart pulled it back into her mouth as it sunk in her chest. Jack really wasn't like other guys...she knew that...and yet she'd tried to get him to follow the stereotype that society came to expect from the typical male...he really did care about her...and she about him...and as usual one of them had caused problems due to the misconceptions they viewed.

"And were you kissing Vince?" Arcee murmured. Miko smiled innocently up at the female Autobot.

"...look, I'll just say that you're taking me somewhere alright?" Miko made up her excuse for leaving Vince. Simply relieved to have the whole situation done with, Arcee nodded allowing Miko to return to the vehicle. The moment she set foot inside the car sped off. Miko had to yank the door shut to make sure she didn't fall out.

"...that little ass..." Arcee muttered. Immediately she morphed into her vehicle-mode and took chase after Vince, Saddie on her saddle. But she wasn't the only one. A purple motorcycle was already ahead of her next to Miko's window!

"Hey, slow down!" Miko yelled at the boy, "I told ya that the bike's drivin' me!"

"I can take you anywhere you wanna go babe," Vince replied swerving the car a bit so that the unbuckled girl fell into his lap, "Just say the word." Her brows coming together in annoyance, Miko pushed herself back into her seat. With the next swerve her face pressed against the window. That's when her blood ran cold. In spite of her fear, the girl rolled down the window and poked her head out

"...Sideways?..." she almost stuttered. This time however the vehicle had a driver. Some biker with a slightly football shaped helmet.

"Been watchin' ya from a nearby hill," the bike replied.

"...fuck..." Miko said slowly.

"Yep." Completely unaware of the newcomer, Vince had no preparation for when the bike suddenly rammed his car to the side. It swiveled all around the road as he tried desperately to regain control.

"That's it! That punk's bike is...that's not Jack's bike..." Vince realized managing to peer out of Miko's side of the car.

"DRIVE!" Miko screamed. His own mind pressuring him to do so, the boy slammed his foot as hard as he could against the gas pedal. Due to the modifications he had made to the car Miko's eyes went wide with how fast they rocketed forward. Even Bulkhead rarely had the nerve to go so fast! Had it been any other time she would have been cheering the driver on. But looking at the window, the only thing only thing Miko could feel was her heart pounding. The purple motorcycle was only a few feet behind! Thankfully the other bike was almost at him as well! Miko could practically hear the metal of the purple one scrape as Arcee scratched against him. That's when the girl received the most shocking thing she had to witness about the whole scenario. Sideway's driver actually looked at Arcee! It turned its head! It wasn't just some hologram!

"Take her boys," Sideways said calmly. Startled by the revelation as well, Arcee didn't have any time to dodge the driver as it threw itself onto her and took hold of the handle-bars, Saddie deactivating in the process.

"What the hell!" Arcee cried. She tried to shake the figure off but it held tight. Too tight. It wasn't a human grip at all. Regardless of her struggle, Sideways caught up to the car ramming into the back of it. Arcee would have been at the rear to block him if the hijacker wasn't messing with her steering. She twisted and braked all around but the driver simply would not let go. Just what kind of creature was it?

"Who the hell is this guy?" Vince cried jerking to the side to avoid another hit, "How is he able to keep up with-is his motorcycle driving itself!" Miko slapped her forehead. He couldn't find out about the Transformers! There's no way that any of the team would be willing to tolerate his presence as an ally!

"Slow down," Miko ordered.

"Oh hell no I-"

"I SAID SLOW DOWN!" she yelled. Since she was closer than the other person that seemed to be angry with him, Vince did as he was told. Taking it as a sign that they were giving up, Sideways wheeled up next to Miko's door which popped open revealing the girl herself.

"So finally deciding to-HEY!"

"What the-! Screw this!" was the last that Miko heard Vince say as she threw herself into the speeding bike. Even before she got up on Sideways seat to look she knew that the boy had abandoned her. It was all for the best though. She really didn't need some outsider getting involved. As the car vanished on the horizon, Miko swam around on the seat eventually managing to grab the handles of the vehicle.

"Kid, you have just made the biggest mistake of your life..." Sideways growled revving his engine. Unfortunately for him he was not completely in control. The girl was actually daring to mess with his steering!For minutes he spun out of control, tires screeching in attempts to stop. But Miko wasn't letting up. She was probably the most persistent human he'd ever run into. Too bad he couldn't have physically run into her. He was however getting used to the pattern that the female was riding in. It'd only be a matter of time before he regained control. And even sooner once he saw who was driving the newest car that joined the chase.

"Come on!" he yelled to Miko. The girl was about to jump when the bike swerved to the opposite end of the road. The moment she let up Sideways regained control. "If you don't how're you gonna get off!" the boy asked over the rush of the wind. Narrowing her eyes, Miko jerked to the left drifting the wobbling bike towards the car. Gathering up what courage she could, Miko let go of the handles and leapt towards the open door as Sideways tried to pull back to fling her onto the road itself. Jack's grunt indicated that she had landed right where she needed to be. Eagerly she curled the rest of the way into the car and shut the door.

"Hope you don't mind if I sit here," the Asian girl smiled twisting around in Jack's lap. His face scrunched up a bit from the pressure, but he was just glad to have her back again. "...and uh...sorry about earlier..."

"It's fine," Jack smiled rubbing his cheek against her's, "We've been through way too much to simply split up from that. Mom pretty much just needed to remind me how you like to tease and be a dumbass a lot."

"HEY!" Miko growled.

"Not my words," June assured the girl. Miko glared at the boy before rubbing her cheek back against his.

"How'd you find me?..." she murmured.

"I know the roads that Vince rides on," Jack replied, "Figured we'd get you here after Arcee made you come to your senses. Then we saw what was going on."

"IF she made me come to my senses," Miko corrected.

"No, WHEN she made you," Jack reiterated. Blowing some air out of her nose, Miko just slumped back into Jack's lap.

"You know me too-YAH!" Miko's scream joined the others as the bike slammed into June's car.

"I hope Fowler has more replacements!" the driver hesitated, "But at least it isn't a tornado this time!" Outside Sideways was preparing to slam into the new target again.

"The more the merrier!" he cackled gleefully. Now he'd be rid of both of the humans that'd blasted him to pieces back in the sewers! "Just stay right-"

"FINALLY! An actual race that's-" Knockout exclaimed driving into the road. He didn't have any time to react before the purple motorcycle slammed headfirst into him toppling them both across the road into their robot-modes upon impact. With their leader down, Sideway's driver dropped off Arcee allowing her to reactivate Saddie and catch up with the humans.

"I suggest we head back to base and sleep there for the night," Arcee said once Jack had rolled down his window. Too worn out to talk back, the boy and girl nodded to her. Then, out of nowhere, Miko gave Jack a loving kiss which his mom did her best to ignore.

"You taste so much better than Vince," she told him as she nuzzled her face into his neck, "He definitely smokes...I know you got your limits...just try to get you more open is all sometimes...besides, you're the only guy I should probably be with with our current lifestyles."

"Well I'm sure he does," Jack laughed lightly in response, "...wait, you kissed him?" Miko smiled at him sheepishly.

* * *

"Ugh...what the..." Sideways muttered rubbing his head. Shaking off the force of the impact he crouched and started getting to his feet. To his left was a Transformer doing the same. A red one. A Decepticon. "...that's the medic that's trying to stop-" Sideway's voice dropped as his driver finally arrived at his side, "...Crosswise...head...now..." Three seconds was all it took for the black biker outfit to vanish from the driver allowing half of its body to leap off the other and morph into a horned gray helmet that clamped down on Sideway's head, his visor being replaced with two glowing yellow eyes. The Decepticon symbol formed beneath his windshield.

"Hey! Watch where you're...you're a Transformer..." Knockout realized once he had gotten up. Feigning minor annoyance, Sideways crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ya sure treat your allies with respect on this planet," Sideways scoffed back. Knockout shrugged innocently.

"Sorry," he apologized, "Just was...looking for a race. Thought I could join in. Had no idea you wouldn't brake or get out of the way...or that you were a Cybertronian..." Unnoticed by Knockout, one of Sideway's eyes twitched at the name of the species. "...but since you're a Decepticon...how's about joining us? We're lead by Megatron himself here...though he's a bit under the weather these days..."

"You don't say..." Sideways chuckled to himself quietly.

-end of chapter-

So yeah, pretty uneventful chapter after the last one. Just a big street race. Hope it wasn't too bad.

Jackie Poo: warahi deviant (slash) art (slash) Possessive-312981297


	19. Fluffy Graves

Chapter 19: Fluffy Graves

"Woo! Now that was awesome!" Miko cheered bouncing through the Ground-Bridge. Following more calmly behind her were Raf and Jack, the younger boy's clothes soaked. The older humans on the other hand were just as wet, but their clothes were in their hands with their underwear as the only things covering them. With them now reunited with the rest of the team, Ratchet closed the portal. Bumblebee was still caught up in a heated conversation with Bulkhead even once the humans had appeared. That's why Bumblebee didn't notice his shivering partner until the boy tapped on his leg. Immediately he morphed into vehicle-mode and turned on the heater which Raf happily slumped into.

"I just don't get how I was able to miss so much!" the green Autobot grumbled more to himself than anyone else, "I mean I had that guy right in my sights! Dead-center lock!"

"Told you Sideways was good," Arcee reminded, "The youngsters got personal experience with him to back me up." Bulkhead just rolled his eyes and muttered something about a fly or something on his optics during the battle. "What I'm worried about is Sideways himself. Why is he with the Decepticons now?"

"Cause he's evil," Bulkhead blurted, "Not that hard to put together."

"No, that's not the same thing at all!" Arcee claimed, "The Decepticons are bad, yes. But they're just Cybertronians like us. They want Cybertron and work together as a team. They don't wanna just destroy everything. Sideways...is a monster. He was trying to help those Mini-cons wipe out Jasper and I'm sure that they had something to do with Unicron from what I saw down there! If Sideways is with them he's up to something, and it can't be good!"

"Well rock on to the bot in purple then," Bulkhead shrugged, "What's bad for the cons is great for us!"

"Yeah, cause Dark Energon totally was something that wouldn't have had any nasty side effects for anyone that wasn't following Megatron," Arcee quipped. Bulkhead looked about ready to throw the female Autobot across the room. It was bad enough that he couldn't even lay a single blow on his opponent during the fight, but then to have all of his comments contradicted...

"Will you two cool down? I just wanna know why the cons were operating under water. Anyone get a clue as to what they were doing down there?" Ratchet interrupted from his terminal. Arcee and Bulkhead sent silent death threats to each other leaving their partners to remain unnoticed amidst the commotion. Miko was busy putting on quite a show for Jack to emphasize each word that she recapped about the exciting experience. He was used to the hyper antics of the girl enough by now to simply tune out her voice when he knew it'd be a long burst of exposition. The movements of her body were what he focused on. She may not have been nearly as curvy or endowed as Sierra, but damn if she wasn't cute when she was wet.

"I hardly even noticed I was drowning!" Miko ended in a shrill laugh. Jack just nodded his head as it became grounded into listening once more.

"Hence why you're lucky I was there," he murmured trying to slip back into the tone of their usual interaction. Miko wiggled her eyebrows a few times in response.

"Yeah, I doubt that you just grabbed me to save me though considering where your hands went," she smiled back causing him to blush. Hesitantly he cleared his throat moving his hand up to adjust his collar before he realized that he had none to play with. "Oh you are so cute when you're embarrassed Mr. Darby," Miko said snuggling up into the arch of his throat playfully.

"Yes...well um..." Jack stuttered. Reminding herself that they were still in view of the others, Miko uncurled from the boy before striding over to Bumblebee. She and Jack still had plans for the afternoon. It been a week or so since the last time they'd really spent time watching movies or anything together and the desire for the activities was getting quite accumulated in her. Sure they could have some fun over Jack's house that night, but after their little aqua adventure they'd just returned from she wanted it a bit sooner.

"Hey four-eyes, we're gonna watch a movie. You comin'?" she asked opening Bumblebee's door. Though at first surprised that he was being invited along, Raf thought about the proposition for a few seconds. He was still slightly damp from the whole ordeal, but the heater had certainly dried him off and dispensed the coldness that had come once the water had hit the air conditioned facility. Nodding his head, Raf sloshed out the door.

* * *

"I'm still not sure about that new Decepticon you brought in," Dreadwing muttered, "Where did you say you found him again?..."

"A few miles outside Jasper, Nevada," Knockout replied as his hands continued to tinker with the supplies that they'd managed to retrieve, "But what are you worried about? That Sideways characters is one of the best fighters I've ever seen, and believe me, I've seen some old Gladiators dish out some pretty nasty scrapes. Those dolty Autobots could hardly even lay a blow on him! The most I'd fear from him is him taking your place if I were you." Dreadwing glared at the turned medic. "I personally am just glad we were able to secure enough of that unique coral to help in the processing of the new antidote. Should definitely last longer than the old one has been doing for our dear Emperor of Destruction."

"Better have been worth it," the air commander muttered, "Swimming is not at all my forte. I'm only thankful that it was just as much a disadvantage to the Autobots. I swear I almost had Prime dead..."

"Yeah, good job explaining that to Megs when he comes back to us," Knockout laughed, "You know how much of a history they have together. I'd never wanna be the con between him and ol' Orion. I think you just need to relax a bit. Times are tense with what all's goin' on, but really, you're just too pent up and serious all the time. Now Breakdown he..." Dreadwing was actually somewhat surprised at the silence that followed Knockout's fading voice. "...he was fun. Just head out and blow off some steam or something."

"Well excuse me for caring about the Decepticon cause," Dreadwing grumbled turning to exit the room, "I just...don't think that Sideways guy helpin' us will lead to anything good..."

* * *

"This...sucks..." Raf muttered to himself quietly. And indeed it did. The movie that the older teenagers had decided to play was one of the worst ones he had ever seen in his life. It wasn't particularly interesting storywise, the events and how the characters acted were predictable as all hell, and it had some of the worst special effects he'd ever laid eyes upon. It was just...bad. Why the pair had decide on it he couldn't figure out. Where they had gotten it from he didn't want to know. All that was on his mind right now was wondering how they were able to sit through it in near complete silence for as long as they had been.

A glance to his side was all it took to answer his question. They weren't sitting through it. They weren't even paying attention to it! Whatever interest they might have had was lost soon after it began more than likely. What they were focused on now were the words that they whispered to each other. Their faces were still pointed at the screen to give off the appearance that they were viewing the unbearable cinema with the younger boy, but their eyes were on each other in the confidence that their friend didn't notice.

As predicted, from what Raf could tell, they were caught up in quite an intense exchange of passionate words...well what someone like Miko might consider passionate that is. Every few seconds there would be a giggle from the girl as she nuzzled comfortably against the boy's chest in reply to their latest conversation. In a way...it actually was kind of cute to see the two interacting as they did now with no denial of their affection to hold them back...and it was certainly a more enjoyable alternative to the crap that was playing on the television. Well it was for the time being anyhow.

Soon enough the hushed conversing escalated into more of sounds being given off than anything else. Raf didn't understand why Miko made the pleased bursts of sounds that she did until he noticed Jack's hand occasionally move across parts of her body. Her stomach usually incited the most response. It really was better than watching the movie. The young boy felt his own body heating up from the affection they were giving each other. Hormones. He knew that was all it was immediately due to his age. Still, he couldn't easily take his eyes off the pair, nor did he want to for the other option.

Well...he didn't until Miko let out the quietest gasp he'd ever heard. It made the hairs of his neck stand up. The reason she'd made the noise was why he winced. Jack's hand had ventured up to her chest and squeezed it. Following the initial tenseness of the motion, Raf could have sworn he heard a soft purr from the girl. What had been a pleasant display of his friends getting along had become something a lot more...unsettling. His stomach felt like it was flip-flopping as their intimacy increased, what little they allowed themselves. It wasn't jealousy or anything that provoked the sickening feeling within the younger boy however. It was just...strange seeing his friends like...that. Needing to get his eyes off them, Raf turned his attention back to the only other viewable thing. The terrible CGI of the creature somehow uncomforted him even more.

"...okay, screw this crap," he murmured to himself before turning to face the others, "You know you're not being secretive right?"

"W-what!" Jack yelped removing his hand from beneath Miko's shirt. Both were blushing from the sudden interruption, though Miko much less so. "W-what are you talking about?..." Jack stuttered forcing a sincere smile onto his face. Neither were used to Raf rolling his eyes other than when they couldn't understand his techno-babble.

"I can leave you two alone if you want," Raf offered politely. To his surprise Miko waved her arms around in front of her.

"Nu uh! We invited you to the movies! Don't hang out with you as much as we should lately!" she rejected the idea. Raf cocked a brow at them.

"You mean the movie you're ignoring?" he asked. Miko grinned innocently sliding back into Jack's arms.

"...sorry," she replied, "Just...instincts and all. No reason that should stop you from enjoying it though!"

"It's called Two-Headed Shark Attack," Raf stated flatly as he held up the DVD case next to him, "Two-Headed Shark Attack."

"Which sounds kick ass!" Miko declared. Rafael's eyelids lowered.

"Alright, then how's about you watch this "kick ass" idea," Raf spread his arm out to the T.V. After squirming around in Jack's lap to get comfortable, Miko wrapped his arms around her body and nodded.

"Fun time tonight," Miko winked up at the older boy. Jack smiled back, his cheeks still a bit red from the wobble of her hips. It only took a few minutes for the movie to warp the expressions of their faces. Raf smirked smugly at them. "...well...it's not...that bad..." Miko tried to shrug.

"It's...well it's...don't wanna say fun..." Jack added rubbing the back of his head, "...is that shark supposed to look like it could exist?..." The two older teens nervously smiled at the younger boy. It was all that they could muster for an apology. "Alright...well...there's still a few more hours before we gotta get headed home..." Jack reminded, "...what do we til then?"

"How's about playtime?" Miko suggested. Jack was reaching for a video game controller when a clothy object smothered his face. "PILLOWFIGHT!" Jack flailed around until eventually the cushiony material was evicted allowing him to breathe. "I'm setting up my fort in the corner!" Miko announced bouncing over towards the edge of the room, an army of pillows in hand.

"Miko, aren't we a little old for-"

"Oh no, I've been waiting for something like this," Raf cut him off fluffing his own pillow with a rare mischievous smile. Both of his friends against him, Jack shrugged and grabbed one of his own. If nothing else, he certainly knew the desire to get back at the Asian girl for all the trouble she caused.

* * *

"I just can't understand why your stupid little detonator has to have been made out of crap that's near impossible to find," Sideways grumbled through his com-link, "I mean it's bad enough that I'm having to slip into Decepticon ranks to get the materials for you dumb little bomb-activator but...well at least it's gettin' me close to one of the targets. Ain't no way Megatron's gonna slice me up in this universe...no, I told you that was part of the plan! He was supposed to destroy me back before the Unicron Battles!...oh just shut the fuck up. I'll report back when I got the supplies for you." Grumbling, Sideways disconnected his com-link. "Insufferable little bug..."

Knowing that it'd only be a matter of time before the Decepticons would get suspicious of him, the purple and yellow Transformer started through the hallways. Ever since Knockout had brought him to the Nemesis he'd been on his best behavior doing everything he could to win of the trust of the other Decepticons. When a con needed help he'd be there. If the medic was experimenting he'd carry vials and such around. Needless to say he'd obviously give some smarmy remark along with his actions, but that was to fit further into the nature of the group he had decided to align himself with. With the trust he'd been gaining he was pretty much able to go anywhere that he wanted on the warship.

Waving to a group of Vehicons, Sideways entered a rather vacant chamber save for a lot of the coral that had been collected during the most recent mission. Gleefully the manipulating bastard rubbed his hands together. He'd hardly seen so much of the substance in one harvested area before. Tarantulas was lucky that it'd taken billions of years for the events to unfold otherwise that layering of Unicron's plating would have taken far longer to mature into a usable form. With no one even so much as guarding the storage room, Sideways went about his business picking out the finest pieces of the coral that he could find. For the life of him he really had no idea why Tarantulas needed to get fancy with the detonator, but at least it was allowing him to get closer to Megatron. That was the main thing he had to take care of.

But as things were Sideways was fine for now. Just needed to keep working his deceit through the ranks as usual. Then when the time came he would strike. If he had a mouth he'd be grinning. That was what he loved. What he lived for. The looks on his victim's faces when they realized that he'd been leading them into a trap the entire time. Everyone, everything...it would all eventually amount to nothingness. It was either Unicron's vision or nonexistence. Those that went against the Dark One, Sideways would gladly see to their demise. It brought happiness to his being.

Sighing at the rediculousness of the task he had to perform, Sideways wrapped both arms around the bundle of coral that he was taking and walked back out the door. Standing in front of him was a blue Decepticon with a stern look on his face.

"Ah...Wetwing was it?..." Sideways guessed.

"Dreadwing," the Seeker corrected gruffly.

"Ah yes. Second-in-Command right? Something you want...sir?" Sideways inquired hoping to get the Decepticon out of the way as quickly as possible. Yelping slightly, Sideways pulled up close to the Seeker's face by his shoulder.

"What are you up to?" Dreadwing muttered, "You're too good at fighting and you're way too willing to take on tasks. Not to mention this batch of the coral we spent the past half a day scrounging up. Where's it headed?" More annoyed than anything, Sideways shrugged the hand off of him.

"If you must know, the doc asked me to bring more of the coral to his room for that antidote he's workin' on. And I'm guessing you'd rather have me be another one of those pathetic drones that get downed by the simplest Autobot blast?" Sideways scoffed pressing his way past the Seeker.

"Yeah...I kinda would..." Dreadwing said under his breath as the land-based Transformer continued down the hallway.

* * *

Jack's breathing was shallow, his eyes darting every which way. From what he could see the coast was clear...but that's how it'd been before. A bead of sweat trickled between his eyes and down along his jaw. The lights were just as dim as when they'd modified them earlier. Delicately Jack placed a hand on his arm. It still stung from the last impact that he'd been caught in. Even so, in spite of the loss of his supplies and the betrayal, he pressed on determined to find a way to take down at least one of them. And so the boy waited. For minutes on end nothing seemed to happen. They were likely getting ready for their next assaults.

As predicted it was the one that had been his target all throughout the conflict that fired first, too impatient to wait out the staredown leaving her open to attack from the other fortess's cannon. With the two forces preoccupied, Jack crawled as quietly as he could along the ground towards the one that had fired first. There was no way in hell that he'd be taking down the other. Not without help at least. He was about three quarters of the way to the fortress when a blast finally collided about three feet from him. Knowing that there was pretty much no other option, Jack got to his feet and tore towards the fortress, reaching it in seconds. Panting he slammed the door behind him.

The explosions from outside rocked the building, the more dangerous enemy more intent than ever to bring the structure down now that both of his opponents were inside. With caution Jack proceeded through the clothy interior. Most of the chambers he ventured through were barren save for mounted projectile-launchers pointing to the outside room that Jack's fortress now layed in ruins in. But he wasn't going down alone if he could help it. The boy ducked to avoid a falling mound of the cushions. He had to hand it to Bulkhead. For all his destroying, the Wrecker certainly knew how to construct a sturdy base. But it wouldn't be holding for much longer.

Urgency taking over him, Jack toppled through the next door and stared upwards. There was a staircase! Not a very big one but still, a staircase had been constructed out of the materials they had! Jack's mind almost short circuited upon viewing the feat. If this was what was at this base he couldn't begin to imagine what the other fortress contained. Another explosion jolted Jack's mind back into reality due to the wall that exploded next to him. Knowing that he'd need one, Jack stole one of the cushions from the debris before charging up the stairs. Upon reaching the top he could see his target leaning against a lifted section of the base that acted as a makeshift table.

"Ah Jack, so glad you could come," Miko smiled confidently. His eyes narrowing, the boy slung his pillow over his shoulder while another explosion rocked the base. Eager to confront the intruder, Miko yanked out a pillow of her own from the wall next to her causing it to collapse. "...oops..." Jack smacked his forehead at the dumbfounding display of idiocy amidst the chaos that they were engaging in. "Hey! Don't do that! This is my base! I can wreck it if I want!" Miko whined punching another part of the wall making a new window in the process, "See!...wait, god damnit! You tricked me!" Jack just sighed. Yeah, he'd chosen right in taking Miko on instead of his other option.

Fed up with waiting, the girl leapt at Jack, her pillow swinging. In light of his disbelief at the significant lack of intelligence that Miko had displayed, Jack was caught entirely off guard and met with the full force of the soft object knocking him to the floor. As Miko prepared to attack again, Jack's pillow hit her legs with enough force to sweep them out from under her causing her to collapse next to him. He somersaulted backwards just in time to avoid the next swipe. Unfortunately a piece of the ceiling decided to collapse right on top of him as he did so burying him beneath a pile of the pillows. Laughing hysterically, Miko got back to her feet and wobbled over to the mound where she took a seat pressing Jack further into the soft ground.

"Don't worry, I'll treat you "nicely" Mr. Prisoner," she giggled reaching her hand into the mound. Jack could tell another blast had hit the base from how much the pillows rocked around him. Just as he was about to crawl out he thought of something. The whole base was made of pillows. A grin crossed his face as he lifted some of them up from the floor beneath him. He could hear Miko's confused cry once he'd crawled into the floor of the room allowing his previous captivity pile to fall in on itself. Knowing he'd have the advantage in her surprised state, Jack crawled out of the surface of the floor dragging a pillow out with him.

"You think this place'll be up long enough for you to have a prisoner?" he laughed jumping towards the girl with his weapon in front of him. The mound Miko was laying in exploded from the force that hit it. For seconds the two struggled on the floor with Jack's pillow between them. The boy did everything he could to keep her pinned down while another explosion crumbled more of the ceiling above them. Raf must've been having the time of his life. Jack and Miko suddenly stopped moving once the felt pressure against their lower bodies. His pelvis had been pressing up against her's. Blushing, Jack gave her a nervous look while a smile appeared on Miko's face.

"Well this certainly would be a rather nice place to sleep tonight," she mused crimsoning his cheeks even more. Before he could respond or Miko could further entice him, a final rumble shook the structure. Miko and Jack's eyes went wide as the ground beneath them started to break apart and they fell through to the softened ground below with the rest of the fortress crumbling around them. It took a few minutes before Raf could make it over to the ruined structure to declare victory. When he arrived he looked all around for his friends but found nothing. Well he didn't until he saw a collection of the objects shivering. His own pillow prepared, Raf knocked some of the ones on the ground to the side. His weapon in no way protected him from the sight beneath.

"Uh...h-hey Raf," Jack greeted, his face red as an apple. Miko grinned up toothily beneath the boy's body. The two older teenagers cries were muffled from the pillows that the younger boy dumped back on them.

"I win," he told them. Happy with the victory, Raf walked over to the door of the room and opened it to exit. What met him on the other side made him take a step back.

"What the blazing' red white and blue is goin' on in here?" Agent Fowler asked with his arms folded over his chest. Raf chuckled nervously.

"Uh...what do you mean?" he asked. Fowler rolled his eyes.

"The explosions?" he insisted.

"Oh..." the boy drolled rubbing his arm, "Uh...we were watching a movie in the lounge that sucked so we decided to have a pillow fight which we eventually moved to this large storage room with the help of the Autobots."

"A pillow fight...that causes explosions..." Fowler asked suspiciously.

"Cannons that Bulkhead managed to swipe for us," Raf answered. Fowler's eyes shot open.

"You were using cannons for a pillow fight!" he gaped. Raf bit his lip. "And you didn't invite me?" And then breathed a sigh of relief. "Well...if it's movies you want I got a good one from back when I was younger," the agent informed happily. The two humans glanced at the mound that Miko and Jack were buried beneath due to a groan that came from it.

"As if that other one wasn't bad enough..." Miko murmured beneath the pile.

* * *

"Alright bug-face, just come to the point I'm currently located at in relation to the Earth and you'll get your stupid material," Sideways grumbled tossing the bits of the coral that he'd snuck to the docking-bay of the Nemesis into the air of the outside world leaving them to fall to the planet far below. He'd been sure to wait until he was positive that there'd be no humans or anything to interfere with the retrieval of the marine structures on the surface of the planet. Now that that task was done he could get on with what he actually needed to do. "Now...where's their Dark Energon located?" Sideways wondered aloud. As he wandered back into the inner workings of the ship, Dreadwing stepped out from behind the box he'd been hiding behind.

"...yeah...he's doesn't belong here..." Dreadwing muttered.

* * *

"You alright?" Jack asked. Delicately he put a hand on her shoulder. Ever since the movie that Fowler had showed them had finished her body had been trembling. Even once they were in the confines of Bulkhead her figure seemed to retain the same fear it had demonstrated throughout the duration of the flick.

"Huh?" Miko blinked jumping a bit from his touch, "Oh uh-yeah! Of course! Why do you ask?...hehe..." Jack shook his head partly in disbelief. All the times that Bulkhead or the boy had talk to her she'd responded simply to respond. She'd been on autopilot the entire trip home. Out of all the boasts and ludicrous claims of bravery that she made,Miko had succumbed to fear by one of the most hilarious things that Jack had ever seen.

"Come on Miko, it's alright to be scared...of a movie...from the seventies...that's played completely for laughs..." Jack's voiced trailed off the more he added onto his attempted nursing. A redness accompanied the air that built up behind the girl's cheeks.

"I was not scared by that stupid Phibes movie!" her voice cracked as she made the claim. Miko's cheeks heated up even more in embarrassment. Foretunately she didn't have to put up with the playful jibes in her confined vehicle for much longer. Jack's house was within sight and with the permission of her host parents Miko was being allowed to spend the night again. They were just happy that she had any friends to hang out with with how unbearable she could get. Before the car had even stopped Miko had flung the door open and half-raced to the front door of the house.

"She'll be fine, you know her," Jack assured Bulkhead. After giving the vehicle a wave, Jack made his way into the house as well. As predicted his mother was still busy at work with the overtime she'd been offered leaving the dwelling to the two teenagers. Jack could tell by the rustling that Miko was already digging through the cabinets for snacks. Once he'd slipped off his shoes at the front closet, the boy crept along the wall and peered into the kitchen. Perfect. Miko's back was to him! As quietly as he could, Jack tiptoed up behind the girl and lifted his hands to her neck.

"GAHH!" Miko screamed as they clamped around her throat. Jack couldn't help but burst out laughing while the girl fell over in shock hastily grabbing at her collar to pry away the memories of what the movie had constricted around one victim's throat. Jack was still raking in breaths when Miko wobbled back into a standing position.

"Not funny!" she yelled pressing her face up against his. Jack simply smiled and kissed his lips to her's.

"Sure seemed like it to me," he mused inciting a growl, "besides, I thought you weren't afraid of the movie..." And then it died back down, her throat too tight to make much of a threatening noise. Prodding the humiliation on even further, Jack patted Miko's back. "There there, it's alright. No frogs are gonna get you," he told her. Miko stuck her tongue out at him.

"Not scared," she stood firm folding her arms over her chest.

"Right..." Jack nodded in a sarcastic voice, "So you weren't at all bothered by the crunching sounds as the metal tightened to snap his throat...or when the womans skull was all that remained once the insects were done with her...oh and let's not forget how those musicians looked-"

"Alright, knock it the fuck off," Miko grumbled. In the silence that followed, Jack's arms wrapped around her waist from behind. Reluctantly Miko allowed him to pull her into the embrace, his face nuzzling into her hair. "I just...don't know why...but I just couldn't stand those things...I mean in Aliens I'm fine. Blood flying everywhere and all that crap. But there...it's just...someone being THAT evil even if it is funny...and the implications it's just...guhhh!" Miko ended with a shudder. Comfortingly he continued to nuzzle his face against the back of her head. "...and Fowler being the one to show it to us just makes it all the more worse. He's an old man! His crap shouldn't be scary!" Jack's chuckling was muffled amidst the female's hair.

"Miko...it's alright to be scared of things," he told her.

"Maybe for a boy that can't even talk to a girl he likes," Miko mumbled.

"Says the girl that's afraid of spiders," Jack shot back receiving the expected jab of her elbow against his stomach, "...you know what...you're just tense. And I know how to get you feeling better!"

"Look, we're not gonna top the pillow fight back at the base and there aren't enough cushions here to begin with," Miko informed. All she could do as Jack's arms scooped her legs up so that she was suspended bridal-style in the air was let out a surprised yelp.

"Oh I think we can do better than a pillow fight..." he replied with a wink. At first Miko's eyebrow lifted baffled by just what exactly he meant.

"What do you...oh...oh..." Miko's eyes widened in realization, a light blush crossing her face. Happily she nuzzled her face into Jack's neck as the boy walked out of the kitchen and started towards his bedroom.

"...might wanna lay off the snacks though," he told his passenger before entering. Again he received a jab from her elbow.

-end of chapter-

Well, this chapter turned out to be a lot more fun than I thought o.o I'd kill to have that kind of a pillow fight. Sideways is up to no good as usual and life goes on. Seriously, best pillow fight ever: warahi deviantart com / art / Cushion-Between-314640531


	20. Good Morning Class

Chapter 20: Good Morning Class

The sun beams peered into the calm bedroom, their warmth and light bringing life to everything they touched. The dim illumination spread throughout the quiet chamber undisturbed until it met the residents of the room. The boy's eyelids suddenly lightly up, he tossed and turned to get into a more darkened position causing the other bedmate to groan slightly in irritation. Even in such a subconcious state he could feel her arms tightened around his body. He was her pillow. More delicately this time, Jack took care to squirm around without as much disturbance. Miko seemed to like it more, but still made a few sounds every now and then. Even so, the light would not disappear. It wouldn't leave. He had to either do something about it or tolerate it. And with how short it was after being awoken Jack was not about to let nature go unaverted.

Jack clenched his teeth and prayed as he tried to slip out of Miko's grasp. He could only hope that she would remain asleep. Actually getting free proved to be much more difficult than he'd thought it would be. The girl's limbs were wrapped around him like a boa constrictor! Every time he would yank she'd pull back tenfold. Normally Jack would not oppose to the situation at all as long as no one was around to view them. But he needed to close the window's curtains if he wanted any chance at returning to slumber. After one final tug, Jack let out a sigh and slumped back into the girl's grasp. He could've sworn that he heard her giggle softly in her throat as he did so.

Jack's eyes widened. That was it! Smiling mischievously, he slid a hand down to Miko's body causing her to blush. Then she started to wriggle about. It was working! The more Jack tickled her the more Miko let up until finally her limbs were loosened enough that Jack simply slipped out of her grasp. What he didn't take into account was that he was at the edge of the bed which he soon toppled backwards off of. But that didn't matter. He was out of the bed and quickly crawled over to the windows where he got to pulling the curtains shut. With his goal achieved, Jack let out another sigh, this time one of relief. Then a sound caught his ears. Looking at his bed he almost laughed. Miko was swimming around on the mattress making all manners of disturbed grunts in her search for the other occupant.

"Hm..hnn...mm...wha..." she mumbled as she finally broke into the world of the living. Lazily, Miko shook her head about and blinked a few times while her eyes scanned over the area she had been sleeping on. "...where's my bed buddy?..." she wondered, a hint of worry working its way into her voice. Jack wished there'd been some way to record the cute actions. Almost a full minute passed as the girl sleepily searched the confines of the bed seemingly not aware that she could look anywhere else. Finally Jack shook his head and walked up the edge of the piece of furniture. Miko blinked her heavy lids once more and looked up. "Where were-"

"Go back to bed honey," Jack laughed lightly bending over. Lovingly he placed a kiss on her forehead. Giggling, Miko wrapped her arm's around the boy's neck to pull him back to sleep with her. But he wouldn't move. It took all the strength Jack had to break her grip leaving her to fall back onto the soft material confused and disappointed. "I'll join you in a sec, just checkin' the time," he winked. This seemed to make Miko content at least. Satisfied with the response she plopped back into a resting position while Jack walked over to a nearby table.

Yawning, he picked up his cellphone and activated it. As he assumed it was too early for him to be getting up when his mom wasn't around to be his alarm clock. But something else caught his eye also. A message. From Raf. It had apparently been sent after he and Miko had arrived home the previous night. Curiously he opened it and started reading. His tired face soon morphed into one of concern. Jack shot a glance at the girl that was taking up space in his bed. Her cuteness almost made him disregard the message entirely. But being the responsible one that he was, Jack nodded to the phone before setting it back down where he'd found it. He was too tired to really worry about anything at the moment but he'd be sure to inform Miko once they were both ready for the day.

Perishing any thoughts of disturbing the slumbering girl from his head for the time being, Jack wandered back to his bed. The moment that he got in under the covers Miko's embrace attacked like a venus flytrap to its prey. Cooing, she nuzzled her cheek against his. She may have been irritating as hell at times, but she certainly knew how to entice the boy's hormones.

"And why..." Miko yawned, "...did you take so long to...look at the time?..." Miko murmured pressing against his face even more. She could feel his heat transferring into her from how much she was exciting his body.

"...it's...nothin' ya need to worry about," Jack told her kissing her lips lightly, "How's about we just get back to sleep?"

"I can live with that," Miko smiled.

* * *

"No matter what I tell the others they just won't bother..." Dreadwing murmured to himself. During his thinking he had made his way towards the bay doors of the Nemesis. Perhaps a small flight would ease his mind. With the tap of a button the doors opened issuing in a swarm of wind that lapped about the ship's interior. "So much for being Second-in-Command..."

"Is it something I can help you with by any chance?" someone behind him asked. The voice nearly froze him in his tracks. "Though they are annoying sometimes, I do what I can to aide the Decepticon cause sir." Furiously the air commander whirled around. Sideways just stood staring at the perplexing actions of the higher-up. The Seeker had his bayonet cannon aimed directly at him. Dreadwing's eyes burned with intense ferocity.

"Yeah, there is!" he yelled charging at the purple Transformer. Though fully aware of the strike, Sideways took the blow full force knocking him into a nearby wall where he sat waiting for the cannon's projectile to be launched. "Ever since you got here I ain't had one good feelin' about you. You're helping everyone...doing everything with the littlest of questions...and sneakin' off with that batch of coral that last time we met..." Now Sideway's eyes widened. "So...I don't know what your game is, but I am not letting you continue whatever it is you're up to. If the others are curious, I'm sure they can pry it from what's left of your warped little mind." Dreadwing smirked as the explosion blasted his opponent to pieces. His victory achieved, the Seeker turned to start his flight.

"So you found out I'm not all that trustworthy. About time someone did. I mean my goddamn name's Sideway's for Unicron's sake!" Dreadwing's eyes bulged. There was no way he could still be talking with the damage he'd taken! Hoping merely to have heard a voice in his head, the Decepticon turned around. The sight he witnessed he would never forget. Reforming in front of him from the bits that were scattered was the traitorous monster. Each piece of him slithered and slunk into place. Even the glass on him that'd been shattered was repairing itself! Dreadwing could only back up in shock and disbelief. After the last remains of his helmet had reformed, Sideways cracked his neck a few times and rocked his shoulders about.

"...yep, I think everything's back where it's supposed to be," Sideways commented looking himself over, "You wouldn't believe how annoying it gets to deal with this sometimes. I mean I swear, one time I had my tire sticking out of my visor after-"

"DIE DEMON!" Dreadwing roared. By his calculations Sideways only had milliseconds to move before he impaled him on the blade of his cannon...and he did. The next moment Dreadwing noticed him, Sideways was at his side, the assault dodged without even a trace that he'd been where he was to be impaled.

"...really?" Sideways scoffed, "After what you just saw, THAT is what you think you should do?" Dreadwing's jaw quivered. "...well I'll give you props for being brave, but...yeah, you ain't gonna get out of this too good." Before the Seeker could make another move Sideways had smacked the weapon out of his grasp and kicked him in the stomach. Dreadwing clutched the injury tightly. He'd never felt such a strike before! Agonizingly he looked back up to determine how much time he had to get on the offense. It wasn't long. Desperately he punched forward but Sideways grabbed his wrist and used its weight to flip straight over his head. Knowing that his enemy would still be comprehending just what he'd done, Sideways made two swift kicks breaking most of his wings off.

"I do hope you enjoy your time outside," Sideways chuckled. Growling, Dreadwing spun around and thrust his arm at the purple Transformer. He knew that he wouldn't be winning, but he thought he'd at least last a bit longer. With one final grab, Sideways locked the Seeker's arm in his and yanked him towards the bay doors. At first Dreadwing was bursting with confidence. He was in the sky now! His domain! Eagerly he morphed into vehicle-mode...and started spinning. That's when he noticed the strikes that Sideways had made before he'd ejected him. Helplessly Dreadwing twirled to the planet far below. "I know I sure am," Sideways laughed lightly to himself as the jet disappeared into a pillow of clouds.

* * *

Still halfway in sleep, Miko buried her face happily into the softness that she was embracing. Whenever she rested with Jack it always brought good dreams...very good dreams. It could have been the lustful aftermath of their primal tendencies or just the comfort that he provided to her mentality. It didn't matter. All that Miko cared about was that she had them. And she loved them. She could still feel his hands running across her body, her mind exploding into a multitude of colors and emotions beneath the vivid fantasies. Most of it was simply too abstract to comprehend when conscious. Tightening the hug, Miko nuzzled her face deeper against her captive...but something was wrong.

That sense of discomfort was the last straw that needed to be pulled for her to fully snap back into the world of life. But as with many things Miko fought against it. She tried to remain asleep. She really did. She clung to every last strand of her delectable visions. But the unsettledness of what she was trying to squirm against was just too much. Her eyes being the last objects she wanted to activate, Miko instead sniffed the object. The smell sent shudders down her spine. It certainly had Jack's scent. Blushing, Miko gave her prisoner a playful bite. Almost instantly she yanked back and started spitting. All that she'd gotten was a mouth full of fuzz from the parching surface.

All hopes vanished with that last test. If it had been Jack she would have gotten some sort of reaction even before the bite. He'd have nuzzled back or bucked his hips against her or something. The clipshow of possibilities that played through the girl's mind reddened her cheeks even more while a grin spread across her face. But none of that had happened. And what did she have to show for her efforts? An extremely thirsty and scratchy mouth! Giving one more raspy cough, Miko pried open her eyes. For a few seconds they swirled around trying to examine the darkness that they were pressed up against. When that failed Miko pulled her head back and stared down at the clothy material.

"...you're not Jack..." she grumbled at the pillow, "You're not even some cute video game plushy..." Miko knew that she could have woken up to a lot worse than what she had, but the subject simply was not the one that she wanted to cuddle. After hopping to the ground Miko fell flat on her ass. Her mind may have been working but her legs were still napping. For a minute or so she wobbled around to get the feeling back into her lower body. Once she was sure that she was able to use her limbs again, Miko slipped on some loose clothing and wandered out into the hall. Both Jack's room and the bathroom were vacant leaving pretty much only one general possibility. The main part of the house. As she neared the living room Miko's grin reappeared. She could hear the low antics of cartoons on the television.

Over the year that she'd gotten to know her new friends, Miko had made it a priority to analyze all their ways of recognizing intrusion. That's why Jack wasn't turning his head even as she slithered up behind him. She was practically a ninja when it came to startling the other members. They were her defenseless targets for whatever mischievous act she was up to at present. Luckily for this target, it was nothing of negative consequence.

"GAH!" Jack cried feeling the arms yank his head back into the girl behind the couch. Greedily she buried her face into his hair. In his state of shock the boy could just sit where he was while Miko flipped around to the front of the couch using his body like a pole to spin from.

"Boobface!" Miko laughed pulling Jack's head into her breasts as she landed on his lap. Sluggishly processing just what all was going on, he proceeded to dig his face slowly deeper into the crevice as his hands began rubbing up and down her body. "That's right, you give them the attention they deserve!" Miko ordered pressing his face even more against her chest only inciting more movements from the all-too-willing male, "You abandoned me!" By now Jack was simply going with what his mind was telling him to do, but he fully heard what his mate had said.

"...what?" he murmured peering up at her only to be pushed back into her bosom.

"Didn't say you could stop. You owe me for however long you weren't in the bedroom. Better get to grabbing too," Miko added pressing against the sides of her small breasts to squeeze Jack's face however much she could. Shaking his head doubtfully, Jack pulled back so that he was lying against the back of the couch with one hand pulling Miko by her rear onto his lap. Miko's cheeks lit up and she gasped.

"That better?" Jack smiled patting her butt a few times.

"Mhmmm..." Miko moaned from where she'd taken to resting her cheek against his chest. Eagerly she wiggled her pelvis causing Jack to suck some air in through his teeth from the tension she caused. Unable to resist the urge any longer, Jack grabbed Miko by the wrists and pinned her to the end of the couch. Miko flashed him a toothy smile. For at least fifteen minutes the sounds of the television mixed with those of the couch. Huffing, Jack slouched himself back into a sitting position at the other end of the resting piece and wiped his brow. Instantly he was joined by the beaming Asian who threw herself into his chest. He stroked her hair as she nuzzled against him.

"...alright Ms. Lovey McFuckadai, now that we've gotten the fanservice outta the way we gotta talk..." Curiously, Miko popped one eye open to look at him. A few jabs of his head motioned for her to get off. Though she was reluctant now that she was reunited with her proper pillow, Miko did as she was instructed allowing Jack to produce an object from behind the arm of the couch. Her brows shifted in confusion at the sight of the book. "What is this?" Jack asked politely.

"...a book?..." Miko shrugged, "and since that's obviously what it is, I guessed right. Now for my prize I believe I should be owed some more lovey time!" To her dismay, Miko was stopped as Jack's hand planted itself against her face and threw her back.

"To be more specific it's your text book. Yours...from school..." Jack drilled against the denseness around her brain.

"...and good for it. Now if you want we can take this to the bedroom. Oh, and your mom isn't gonna be home today so we might even be able to use her-"

"MIKO! Shut up," Jack barked. Still joyed beyond bounds, Miko saluted the boy playfully followed by a giggle. The boy sighed and shook his head before continuing. "...now why might I be showing this to you?" he asked. Miko rubbed her chin.

"...you...want to remind me that school exists?..." she guessed. Jack smacked his forehead.

"The reason I didn't come to bed all that quickly earlier was because I saw that Raf had left a message for my on my cell phone last night," he told her.

"Bet I can guess why you didn't see it last night," Miko wiggled her eyebrows burning Jack's cheeks in embarrassment.

"...that's...not that point..." he managed to stutter leaving her in a giggling fit, "...the point is...apparently you were supposed to be having Raf tutor you to help your grades. But for some reason you always seem to be able to find an excuse to skip out on those sessions, as he'd informed the teacher you likely would." Miko nodded lifting her hand into the air which she curled the middle two fingers into the palm of giving Jack a "rock-on" sign. The boy's eyes drifted to his head. He knew she wouldn't be able to take it seriously.

"...so...the honor of tutoring you in ANY form has been passed on to me to see if I can get ya to shape up any better," Jack finished placing the book between them. Miko stared at the hard-bound pages before glancing back up at the boy.

"...this is a joke right?..."she asked. Jack just folded his arms over his chest. She knew from the face he gave her that he was going to see the task through to the end, as he did any that he was given. But she was not about to let that get in the way. Jack was surprised to see her smile drawing to her cheeks. His jaw dropped even further as Miko slipped off the long shirt she'd dressed herself in.

"Alright teach," Miko said bending over so that her face was just inches from his lap, a sultry tone swirling into his ears from her mouth, "But we should probably get the punishments out of the way first considering how much trouble I am for the rest of the staff." Miko winked at him as she finished the sentence. Jack gulped. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought...

* * *

"Now I know...I'm the one that brought him here but...it may all just be Dreadwing's stupid paranoia but something really does not feel right about that Sideways guy," Knockout sighed. He knew he wouldn't receive a response. He'd contemplated throwing himself out the airlock of the ship rather than going to confide in Soundwave of all cons. But something needed to be addressed...and really what other Cybertronian would he get reasonable results from? Dreadwing would have just automatically agreed with the suspicions and neither Breakdown nor Airachnid were around any longer. Knockout did know however that he'd been heard. Soundwave's continually tinkering hands had ceased.

"There's just something up about that guy, ya know?...I mean I doubt that the bundle of coral he made off with was for the doc. Haven't received word that he even needed any more than he had," the Seeker's voice played through a recording on Soundwave's face. Knockout blinked. Sideways had made off with some of the coral? That had been some of the hardest to find material that they had ever come across on Earth!

"Alright! We gotta find Sideways before he does anything else-" Knockout's voice was lost amidst the distant explosion that echoed through the hallways. Soundwave and Knockout eyed each other warily before approaching the door of the room they were in. The instant it opened smoke flooded forth as well as the cries of a rather terrifying individual.

"None shall deny the master's will!" Megatron's warped voice hissed through the corridors. The declaration sent shivers across Knockout's body. He'd hardly ever heard the tone so violent. It was only when he was...succumbing to the infection! Hesitantly Knockout flipped out his surgical equipment and peered down the hall. As predicted, it too was pretty smoky. But he could see clearly enough to notice the vessel coming towards them.

"Hey!" Sideways coughed morphing into robot-mode in front of the two Decepticons, "Lord Megatron, he-"

"I'm going to see what I can do about that suspicious bike. There's no way he'll be giving us anything good," Dreadwing's voice interrupted from Soundwave's face. Both Sideways and Knockout stared at the taller Cybertronian.

"...I miss when you actually talked," Sideways remarked before slamming his foot into Knockout's chest. He was about to execute a similar maneuver on Soundwave when the slender figure grabbed his limb and threw him back into the hall. Sideway's eyes narrowed behind his helmet. Figuring that he'd just be wasting time, the traitor morphed into vehicle-mode and took off through the ship. His mission, after all, was complete. Soundwave's immediate thought was to go get their master under control. A cough stopped him.

"Go after that punk! I'll get the boys together to take care of Mr. Infecti down there. I'm his doctor after all," Knockout groaned from where he was slumped in the wall. Giving a nod, Soundwave transformed into a jet and sped off after the motorcycle. If it was an Earth-based vehicle it was far beyond any bike that Soundwave had ever analyzed. Its speed was enough to keep ahead of him for quite some distance. When he'd had enough of the chase however, Laserbeak unclamped from him and blasted the purple Transformer toppling him across the ground. To his fortune he'd ended up falling straight into the chamber with the bay doors that he'd thrown Dreadwing out of. On the other hand his wheels were completely ruined.

As the repairs got started, Sideways flipped back into robot-mode and thrust his arm cannons out at the air-based vessel. Somehow Soundwave was able to swerve through the shots! Almost leisurely the former Gladiator morphed back into robot-mode and landed, Laserbeak taking his place on his master's chest.

"Heh, Mini-con eh? You know you should really be working with us since you have one," Sideways suggested. On cue his helmet lifted off his head and launched itself at were Laserbeak nested. If Soundwave was surprised he didn't show it. One swing of his arm was all it took to dispose of the smaller opponent. Sideways bent his knees and elbows. He had seen more than enough of the silent operative to know that Soundwave wasn't someone to joke around with even with his unique abilities. "You know the last guy I know with your name was an old pal of mine," Sideways attempted to start a conversation. It was a wasted effort. For seconds the two just stared at each other. The only background noise was the far off explosions that rocked the ship.

"...okay, well ya know what, I really don't have time to waste, so here's the first move!" Sideways announced. Faster than Soundwave had seen any opponent move, Sideways rushed up. Just as he was about to lay his fist on the taller Transformers body Soundwave slid out of the way. It practically felt like a reflex of his. But Sideways had seen him before. Completely aware of the dodge, the shorter mechanoid uncurled his hand into a flat form and whipped it around to slice. Again he missed! Now he was beginning to get annoyed. Yelling this time, Sideways threw up one kick after another, both of which Soundwave backstepped from. Noticing the border behind his adversary, Sideways decided to attack something else. The control panel that operated the chamber. Snickering to himself, he lifted his arm and fired causing the bay doors to slide open.

If it'd been anyone else that he'd been facing they'd have turned around in shock allowing for him to simply kick them out. But this was Soundwave, possibly the most collected version of the character that he'd ever come across! The silent one just continued to stare at him until Sideways made his next move. Now that the doors were open though Sideways was determined to get the upper hand. Laughing chaotically he started firing all around in front of him. To his complete shock Soundwave sidestepped, twirled, and bent past each and every one of them! Sideway's fury blinded him of Soundwave's progress until the quiet Decepticon was right up against him, his hand yanking Sideways' ones into the air to halt the laser-fire. After a few tugs, Sideways brought his legs up to kick the taller machine. Before he could, Soundwave's two tentacles slid out and grabbed the legs holding him in place.

"Ah, goin' a bit Kiss Players in this universe are we?" he chuckled. He didn't need to see any expression to know that Soundwave had no clue what he was talking about. "Even so, if you start goin' all Legion on me there's no way I'm considering a partnership this time. But now what're ya gonna do? Got all your limbs preoccupied buddy. Just gonna stand here forever? I sorta got places to go," Sideways continued his jibes. The answer he received was from Soundwave's assistant. Slowly Laserbeak unhitched from his chest and fired. Sideways remains clattered limply to floor below. As with his previous enemy, Soundwave turned to reenter the now much quieter halls of the ship allowing Sideways' reforming to go unnoticed.

"Sayonara tape player!" he cackled launching his recreated body at the unsuspecting Cybertronian. Again Soundwave's preparedness dumbfounded the abomination. In one swift spin, Soundwave grabbed Sideways by the wrists and twirled him around. When Sideways realized that he'd been let go of he clawed desperately to stop whatever skidding he might endure upon impacting the ground...but the metal floor never met him. No instead he found himself falling through the clouds of the sky outside. Soundwave had flung him straight out of the ship! Looking up he could see his Mini-con drifting down towards him.

"...well god damn it..." Sideways grumbled as he sunk into a cloud.

* * *

"Alright, five "detentions" down," Jack sighed. His legs quivered as he exited the steamy bathroom. "Now...let's get to actually studying...what chapter in history are you on?..."

"Oh really? I think I'm at least owed seven detentions! Now how's about you come on back in here and punish this bad girl?" Miko cooed grabbing the boy from behind. Jack's eyes rolled into the back of his head. He enjoyed their...quality time as much as any guy would, but by god! He could hardly feel his lower body anymore! He had to fight to get air to keep pumping through his lungs with how much Miko was wearing him out. Jack was all for playing "make-believe" when no one else was around, but he had a job.

"You're getting time out for good behavior," Jack grunted breaking out of her grip. In his hesitation Jack hardly had time to notice the slipperiness of the floor that'd wettened from the moist air encompassing the room causing him to fall. Though he twisted so that he fell backwards, his body still hit a bit rough. Miko blushed having a full view of his exposed front.

"Well I can certainly tell that you think that..." she smiled. Embarrassment overriding his pain, Jack covered his hands over his crotch and glared at the girl. Her smile just broadened. "No reason to hide around me ya know," she grinned displaying her bare front to him proudly. Jack's face only grew more uncomfortable. She really did know how to unnerve him.

"Well...since you know that I mean it, how's about we get to work actually?" he grumbled as he got back to his feet. Miko slowly slunked toward him, her hips swaying drastically with each step she took and her eyes half-closed.

"Or..." she slurred, "Me could be the teacher's naughty little pet and he can let me get by with...alternative methods..." Jack's face spasmed a bit at the resistance she was displaying.

"...how the hell are you so..."

"Sexy?..." Miko finished wiggling her eyebrows, "I'm asian remember? We foreign girls got that certain charm that bitches here don't..." In the time that she had been talking, Miko had made her way up to Jack's body which she leaned up against seductively. Jack's stiffened feeling her soft chest and lower region against his. But the thing he noticed the most was her eyes. It felt like there was a spell emitting from those half-closed optical organs. He couldn't move. He was trapped. The danger of looking the female dead in the eyes locked down his figure to her every whim. Should she talk he would feel compelled to obey.

"...why..." Jack said quietly bringing a hand to her face. Gently he put it to her cheek guiding her lips to his. The two met and closed their eyes. The line of sight broken, Jack was in free reign to pull away once they were done. Being sure not to hurt her, he tugged Miko by one of her pigtails. Startled by the sudden change of action, Miko's eyes jolted open. The pulling from the boy proved hard to walk in the path he was leading her in.

"Hey! What gives!" she cried trying desperately to get free, "We were having a great time and then all of a sudden-"

"We can have a "great time" after we do your studying," Jack replied happily. A growl was forming in the girl's throat. He'd caught her completely offguard! Right when she was sure that she'd had him he'd flipped the tables! "Now then, what should we get started on first? There's a nice big test for Math this week and it never hurts to catch up on Science, especially with what kind of lifestyles we lead," the boy tossed around ideas in a rare moment of undefied dominance...well undefied until they made it to the couch. The moment the boy sat down, Miko tackled him to the other end of it.

Miko panted as she tried desperately to rub her body against his in any way she thought might provoke his more primal urges. She could definitely feel his body reacting, but his mind however was lost. Even with her staring into his eyes she didn't retain the control over him that she needed to. There was just something about her panicked attitude that didn't have what the seductive one from before did. Fed up with the distractions, Jack grabbed Miko by the shoulders and pinned her to the other side of the couch.

"Book. We study. Now," Jack ordered holding one of the pieces of literature up to her face. For a few seconds the room was silent. Miko just stared at the book quietly. Then she screamed. Jack had never heard such a high pitch before, nor was he at all prepared for it. Hastily he covered his aching ears. Taking the opportunity at freedom, Miko leapt off the arm of the couch and bolted down the hallway.

"You'll never take me alive!" her determined voice declared before slamming the door to Jack's room. Sighing, Jack put a hand to his forehead. He thought that out of anyone he would have been able to get through to her. Even before they started the relationship he was sure that he would have had more of a chance than the others. But he'd lost. It was time to implement his failsafe. As much as he didn't want to, Jack picked up his phone and dialed the number that had left the text the night before.

"Hey Raf...it's Jack...yeah...couldn't do it...sorry, but it's time to activate Operation Science Fair. Be ready when we get there." Silence winning over the atmosphere once more, Jack shut the phone. With a sigh he lowered his eyelids. "Sorry Miko...but you're not giving me any other choice..."

* * *

"Miko, I told you, I'm not going to force you to read!" Jack yelled at his door. He'd been trying to reason with the girl that had locked herself in his room. After another series of irritable foot tappings, Jack pounded his fist against the door again. "Come on! You can peak out and see that I don't even have a book with me if you're not sure!" Jack was about to continue yelling when he heard a click. The lock had been undone! Slowly the door creaked open allowing the girl to skim her eyesight along the rim of the frame. Seeing that he was telling the truth, Miko opened the door all the way before poking her head out and jolting around to see if there were any hidden ones along the the bareness of the hallway confirmed, Miko walked out happily and hugged the boy.

"Glad to see you've finally come to your senses," she smiled. Jack smiled back.

"Oh believe me, I know when I've lost," he replied suspiciously happy about the whole ordeal. Miko questioned whether or not she should ask what he was up to but decided against it. This was Jack. He wouldn't be able to pull anything over on her. If he tried she'd just run back into the room again. "Bulkhead's here to drive us to the base," Jack told her. Eager to escape the house, Miko accompanied Jack to the front door. Just before they reached it, Miko spotted one of her text books out of the corner of her eye and hissed at it. Rolling his own, Jack shook his head pulling Miko the rest of the way to their ride.

For the most part it was mainly a peaceful drive. Miko of course was the one to do most of the talking. But that was a good thing. It got Jack settled in enough to jab back with his own responses despite the underlying knowledge of what was coming.

"Though I realllly liked that fourth detention," Miko finished her latest remark with a wink causing Jack's face to darken in color. As usual she giggled at his embarrassment. Miko was so easy to please.

"I'll be sure to let the school know that," he quipped back. Miko leaned over and stuck her tongue out at him. To her surprise Jack leaned back towards her and opened his mouth forcing her into a rather heated kiss. When pressured enough the boy did display quite the maneuvers. That's why Miko always kept at him. If she let up he'd just revert back to his boring old self all the time. She hardly realized that Jack had ended the passionate gesture when he pulled back with how intimate it felt.

"...wow..." Miko whispered happily, a blush accompanying the remark. Jack winked back at her. He seemed rather confident for some reason.

"Gotta give my girl what she likes," he figured.

"Now aren't you two just adorable?" Bulkhead finally commented flooding both of the teeangers' faces with shame and embarrassment. They'd completely forgotten about the other character present! Truly an advantage of being able to transform. In seconds Miko had turned down the volume of the radio so that her partner's voice was little more than a startled murmur.

"Sorry," she apologized rubbing her head into the arch of Jack's neck, "so hard to get good co-workers these days." Giggling built up in her chest from the grip Jack put on her hip along with the muted shouts that the vehicle was growling.

"Don't really have complaints about mine," Jack shrugged.

"Yeah, cause she's curvy as hell for a machine," Miko laughed reverting Jack's cheeks back to the color of tomatoes, "Just hope I don't have competition..."

"Well..."

"Jack..." Miko growled. The boy just laughed and ruffled her hair issuing a slew of cute sounds from her. "Don't worry, I'm all yours. Besides, can you imagine how uncomfortable it'd be to fondle that?"

"Well I'm not one to grope girls, but I can take a guess," Miko replied nuzzling her face further against his neck, "Might as well cut your hands off." Slowly Bulkhead rolled to a stop allowing Jack and Miko to exit into the air conditioning of Autobot Base Omega Outpost One. All too eagerly the green giant transformed.

"Maybe we should get a volume control inserted on you," he murmured to his female companion who beamed up at him.

"Definitely would make things more livable," a human voice agreed. Raf took a step back from the nasty look that the girl shot him.

"Definitely," Jack nodded receiving just as distasteful an expression.

"Well, shall we get started?" the shorter boy asked while Bulkhead walked off to strike up a conversation of his own with Arcee. Jack nodded putting a hand on each of Miko's shoulders. The girl looked between them curiously. Then her eyes widened. That's why Jack had been so confident throughout the trip! Things were going his way! He'd been up to something but he hadn't been the one pulling the strings! It was the boy genius of the group!

"Oh hell no!" Miko squirmed trying to get out of Jack's grasp, "Whatever you're trying to pull it ain't gonna work! I-"

"Miko calm down!" Jack's voice snaked into her ear. With how his mouth moved against the side of her head she could feel shivers of excitement racing across her body. In his own manner he had ways of getting her to cooperate with his suggestions. "It doesn't involve books or anything...in fact it involves something you like. Electronics." Almost happily, Miko glanced back at him.

"Really?...wait...is it some boring ass computer program that you're gonna hook me up to?" she grumbled, "...on second though by all means hook me up. Always wanted to see what it was like to be plugged into a virtual world!"

"Well...it's not really a computer," Raf told her putting a hand to his mouth to suppress his laughter. Miko cocked a brow at him. "J-just follow me..." he said through clenched teeth. If she had any objection to it, Jack was guiding her either way. It wasn't all that long of a walk to get to the door the boys had prepared. The girl shifted her view. She could hardly see anything other than just some generic room behind the window in the door's center. As if having a mind of its own it slid open. Curiously she wandered in. It couldn't be anything too bad. Neither boy would endanger her life...well at least not Jack...if he was in tolerable enough of a mood. As it closed her eyes grew wide as dinner plates.

"NO!" she screamed pounding against the door. It wouldn't budge! Raf was in a fit of laughter while Jack bit his lower lip in an attempt to hide his own amusement.

"Didn't give me any other choice..." he told her. Tears streamed down Miko's cheeks.

"Good morning class! I am your teacher for the day! Ratchet!" the Autobot medic announced excitedly, "Oh we are going to have so much fun!"

Miko's eye twitched.

-end of chapter-

Well, this one was pretty fun to do. Usual Miko being the complete joker antics. I really do just randomly start up some situation with Jack and Miko and randomly throw in whatever I think up for them to do this crap. And on the Decepticon end we finally have someone hand Sideways his ass. I'd say it's a chapter written.

Pillow: warahi deviantart com / art / Love-Your-Pillow-316220243


	21. Dropout

Chapter 22: Dropout

"Everything go okay today?" Bulkhead asked as his passenger slipped into the driver's seat. Miko huffed in response and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, if you count having the information Ratchet drills into your head against your will praised by superiors as fun..." Miko grumbled. She growled slightly at the chuckle from the radio. "You know, I'm gonna stop going to his sessions...I really don't give a damn anymore. Yeah, I'll study with Jack, I'll listen to Raf's techno-babble. ANYTHING but the crap that ol' doc-bot puts me through! I'll be a good girl from now on!"

"Right..." Bulkhead drolled. Miko bit her lip nervously.

"uh...well...a better girl..." she chuckled.

"At least you aren't big enough for him to be yelling "MIKO! I needed that!" all the time," Bulkhead sighed. Miko giggled from the latest memory of him snapping one of Ratchet's scanners in half by accident before trying to tape it back up. "You said Duct Tape solves everything!" Bulkhead grumbled.

"It's supposed to," Miko assured folding her arms over her chest, "Not my fault that you decided to listen to me when I asked ya to go scrounging for some cool tech." Bulkhead's next slew of replies were lost amidst the wandering of Miko's unrestrained mind. Getting Jack to be her teacher again would be simple enough on his part, and if that failed she would be able to tolerate Raf if she tried to. The hard part would be splitting up from Ratchet. Knowing the medic it wouldn't be without a fight with how grouchy he could be. On the other hand he might actually be happy to be rid of the hyperactive Asian...but when in that mode he seemed even more dedicated than the actual school staff itself to benefit her education!

Just as Miko was about to tune back into what her partner was saying she caught something out of the corner of her eye. A boy in a sleek car. Vince. The more she looked at him the more distant she got from reality. He really did have qualities that she'd much more enjoy than the ones that she got from the group that she hung out with...still...they were her friends...and it'd sorta be hard to beat going on adventures with giant living machines...

"Miko!" Bulkhead's voice finally broke into her ear drums.

"SEVENTEEN SEVENTY FIVE!" she squeaked. Blinking a few times, she blushed and smiled weakly at the radio, "...sorry...thought you were Ratchet for a sec...what's up now?"

"You were starin' at that punk that nearly got ya killed. Need me to go lay the smackdown on him or somethin'?" the vehicle asked its passenger.

"Wha-no! Bulky, you aren't supposed to attack people!" Miko exclaimed in a mixture of laughter and concern.

"What? I hear the guy's a jerk," Bulkhead gave his usual excuse eliciting an eyeroll from Miko.

"Don't worry DAD, we were hanging out. I told you it was that Sideways motorcycle guy that tried to kill us," Miko reminded.

"Ah, an even bigger jerk...see him around anywhere?" the green car inquired.

"Not since he tried to murder us, but don't worry. You have my full permission to whip his ass into the fuckin' ground the next time he pops up. Not gonna lie...he...scares me a bit...not that I'm goin' soft or nothin'! It's just...it felt like we were actually going to...die..." Miko's voice trailed off a bit as the memory took hold. The realization of just who was ramming Vince's car. The determination that the bike had to knock her to the road so that it might roll her softer body through the grinding mechanisms of the high-speed vessel. The mere thought of what Sideways might've done to her had he actually succeeded in his intentions made her shudder.

"Hey, don't worry kiddo. If he ever even threatens you with me around I'm gonna slam him with everything I got!" Bulkhead assured her, "And I will be there." Miko smiled from the reassurance.

"Just don't overdo it," she chuckled, "Besides, I'm not gonna be so easy for him to take down next time. Been workin' out." Miko smirked at the laugh she recieved. "What? All the time I spend with Jack isn't just us lounging around."

"Oh believe me, ALL of us know that by now," Bulkhead murmured reddening Miko's cheeks rather intensely, "Besides, he's a giant ass machine. No offense, but doubt you're gonna do much against him."

"Well thank you Mister Self Confidence. The next time Jack's in here I just might suggest we spend the night in you-"

"Oh like scrap you are! Pull that kinda slag here and I'm transforming right on the spot and walkin' back to base alone," Bulkhead told her. Miko snickered through her teeth. "Hey...what's that punk doin'?" the car wondered aloud. All the time they'd been talking, Bulkhead had subconsciously been following Vince in his overprotective attitude. Casually he pulled up next to where the bully had parked and let Miko out to follow the suspiciously hunched boy into the electronics store he'd stopped at. The girl was just excited to being allowed on anything that'd qualify as a mission. The moment she opened the door to the store her eyes widened. There was yelling!

"Look dude, I told ya, I NEED that radio replacement. And that was a month ago! Time's up! Now either give it to me or-"

"Or what?" a female voice interrupted cutting the scruffy boy off. All too ready to get free, the clerk that Vince had been grabbing by the collar broke loose and ran out the back door. The boy himself was in his usual getup only now his face was covered by a full-head mask and his hands in black gloves. The more interesting outfit however was the one worn by the girl that stood before him. She was a bit shorter than him, but she didn't appear to be wearing clothes. Instead her body looked like it was covered in machinery save for her stomach, parts of her arms and legs, and face. A rim ran along the top of her head allowing her black hair to flow out the back of the construct. Lifting a brow, she snapped a few times to get the boy's attention.

"Yoohoo...didn't answer the question..." she commented. Grounded back in the moment, Vince did the first thing that came to his mind and took out a pocket knife. The girl practically laughed.

"Really?...really? You're going up against me with a little knife when I'm decked out in THIS?" she asked spreading her arms out along her body to display her costume.

"Don't see all of yourself protected," Vince grinned. Pulling the blade back he ran at her. The girl just shook her head. Just as he was about to make his stab, the android-looking opponent hopped out of the way and grabbed the metal object in her protected hand. Viciously Vince tried to pull it back but the grip was unbreakable. He did however have her right next to him. Grinning he produced another pocket knife and yanked it into the air. The moment that the girl saw the new weapon she squeezed the blade of the previous one that he was still holding. Vince let out a shrill cry as an electric current shot through it into his body knocking him back into a nearby shelf.

"Guh..." he hacked wobbling to stay on all fours, "Who...what are you?..." he groaned tilting his head up to the girl. The girl grinned back and put her hands on her hips.

"Call me Circuit Breaker," she told him. With his last ounce of strength, Vince tried to crawl forward and collapsed. Happy with her victory, the machine-wearing human turned to exit the building only to step on a canister that had dropped from the shelf that she'd knocked the boy into. Circuit Breaker was only happy that no one else was around to see her fall flat on her back when it rolled out from under her.

* * *

Groaning, Dreadwing attempted to morph into vehicle-mode again. And again he was simply met with the shearing pain of his twisted metal halfway jamming at the sockets that they operated in. It had taken the entirety of his skill to maneuver down to Earth without killing himself now that his wings were snapped off. Ever since then he'd been sending out signal after signal...but there was no response. Not a single sign that even the slightest faction of the Decepticons had picked him up...it was as though...something were jamming his attempts.

Dreadwing muttered something as he loosened his body back up. If he was going to reach anything on foot he'd have to keep walking. Even with the progress he'd made in the past days the Seeker had not the slightest clue of how he'd be reaching the Nemesis. To make matters worse he was being followed. It hadn't taken long for that Sideways monster to crash-land nearby once he'd impacted the Earth. Normally he'd have assaulted the traitor with everything he had at his disposal. But seeing as how he'd nearly been murdered in their previous encounter, Dreadwing had fled...but that didn't stop Sideways. With what he'd seen he knew that the...monster would be after him.

But with the double-agent's abilities...why was Dreadwing still alive? There was no reason for it! There was no doubt in Dreadwing's mind that Sideways should've overtaken him ages ago. His Spark Chamber should be ripped out and his fluids scattered across the terrain he slunked through. But he wasn't...Dreadwing was still alive...which meant only one thing from what he figured. He was being toyed with. Sideways was having fun leaving the anticipation in the air. Surely he'd strike when his guard would be let down. That was his style. Break his opponent before finishing them off. Sideways was sadistic...he was...a demon.

* * *

"And you say you got to see her?" Raf gasped.

Grinning, Miko ran her knuckles across her chest and nodded, "Yep, saw the whole thing. That Vincy boy got his ass handed to him like it was nothin'. Not that I blame him or anything. You've seen how badass that girl is. News reports ain't lyin'." Excitedly, Raf turned his attention back to the television set that Jack, Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee were watching. At first it hadn't been anything more than rumors he'd heard around school, but before long the new Jasper super hero had been on the screen at least once a week! It was just like some comic book nerd's fantasy come true! And those machines she wore...so complex...

"She sure seems cocky," Arcee commented.

"And pretty good looking..." Jack added in quiet absentmindedness. Miko's grin spread even further. Then it drooped. Yeah he was admiring the a hero...but he was saying it about Circuit Breaker, not his...bed buddy. A more stern smile now on her face, Miko slipped her arm his neck and pressed her cheek up against his.

"Who's good lookin'?" she growled lightly into his ear. All Jack could manage was a nervous chuckle as he fished his finger around his collar.

"Well, we still haven't exactly determined just what our relationship is..." he reminded in just as hushed a voice. He wished he hadn't. Almost immediately the arm around his throat tightened to spine-snapping capacity.

"Who's ass is the one in your lap at night?"

"Y-your's is..." Jack stammered. Though he was used to the touch of her skin against his by now, Jack's face still heated up a bit at the friction between them. It didn't help matters that she was practically breathing down his neck.

"So who's good lookin'?" Miko repeated.

"Y-you are..." Jack whispered, his throat tight.

"Got that right," she grinned pulling back and plopping down more leisurely at his side. Jack was just thankful that he could breathe properly again.

"Yeah, if you're into short skinny girls with flat chests," the smaller boy murmured out of the side of his mouth. The moment he ended the input, Raf found himself face-down on the ground in front of the couch.

"Oh dear, it looks like the smartest member of our group has fallen!" Miko gasped tucking her hands between her legs innocently. The sudden drop of the human finally took the Cybertronians' attention away from the television. Raf grumbled something incoherently as he got back to his feet and shot a nasty look at the Asian only to receive a smirk in return. Had Miko had her eyes elsewhere she would have probably bit back a chuckle from the display of unison that Arcee and Jack gave from the shaking of their heads. Bumblebee just made all sorts of beeping noises.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Raf grumbled walking over to the edge of the platform that the kids' lounge area was on, "though I could use a little break from the others. How's about a ride?" All too happy to accommodate, the yellow Autobot grabbed the boy and morphed into vehicle-mode.

"And we should probably be checking in on Optimus. That new message he got seems to have his full attention lately," Arcee suggested, "That girl might be fun to watch for a few seconds, but it's not getting anything done around here." Nodding, Bulkhead followed the smaller Autobot deeper into the base while the yellow car wheeled off into the desert outside. Jack gave a curious glance at Miko due to the scoff she gave the retreating alien machines.

"So now you want her to have attention," he smiled.

"A certain kind of attention," Miko elaborated. Jack felt his face flash a bit hotter again as she slouched into his body. More delicately this time, she wrapped her arms around his neck suspending her back just above his lap. Mischievously she wiggled her eyebrows at him, "Not the kind I deserve." Jack knelt his face down to her's.

"Well if we're talking about the kind that you deserve-"

"The kind I get," she corrected. As if to apologize for overstepping her bounds, Miko put a finger to her lower lip cutely and winked at him, "Me a good girl..."

"Right..." Jack nodded sarcastically as he lifted his head back up to rest against the cushion of the couch, "And me and Fowler are switching roles in the group..."

"Oh hell no you ain't!" Miko yelped pulling herself up into a sitting position on his legs. Jack snickered enticing the girl to press her face up against his. That shut him up rather quickly. "I am not gettin' with some forty-something year old over-ordering cop...and besides...I had a little...proposal for you anyway..." If Jack's face wasn't the shade of a beat yet, it was now.

"P-proposal?..." he gulped, "...I mean if you really think so I guess we can but...really?...YOU are the one asking for that kind of commitment?...and this early on?" Miko blinked a few times before her eyes shot open.

"Wha-NO! Not that kind of proposal!-er-not that I wouldn't...well I can't say that I could really promise that kind of loyalt-I mean-uh-you're great in bed and to hang out with when you loosen up but-I guess I could consider-but-"

"Miko," Jack interrupted putting a finger on her lips. Slowly her eyes drifted down to it and then back up to his. "Shut up. You know we're just going to say things to embarrass each other if this keeps up...so...what is it you wanted to tell me?" Blushing at how discomforting she'd acted, Miko cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

"Jack...TAKE ME BACK! PLEASE! I can not stand learning from Ratchet another day! I'll be a good girl! I promise! I'll do whatever you say! I'll study science! I'll study math! I'll study history! I'll study COUNTRY MUSIC! Just please say-"

"Woah woah! Miko, calm the fuck down!" Jack laughed. Halfheartedly Miko's panicked expression shrunk into a nervous smile. "...country music?"

"Well...if Ratchet's the alternative..." she trailed off hesitantly. Jack sighed and ruffled the girl's hair. A quiet mew escaped her lips as he pressed against the back of her head to bring her face up to his.

"...okay," he gave in happily. Unable to contain herself, Miko snapped her arms around his body in a tight hug.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you thank you!" she cheered nuzzling her face into his neck. Though he tried to return the embrace, Miko reeled back as his hands made their way down her back, an agonized hiss seeping through her teeth.

"Something wrong?" Jack inquired. As naturally as possible Miko waved it off.

"Just...hurt my back earlier," she shrugged, "How's about just some...light cuddling for now Mr. Darby?"

"I can live with that," he smiled pulling her back against his body by the waist, "might have to extend class though. Got a lot to teach ya." Miko grinned back.

"I am your ever-ready student oh wise teacher," she mused.

* * *

Nervousness coursed through the girl's veins like hose-water being pumped into a sprinkler system. Even though the boys were with her, she couldn't help but sweat in anticipation of what would be coming. Had it been prior to her lessons she would've had no problem going through the plan that she'd cooked up. But this was Ratchtet...her teacher...and in the days that he'd been tutoring her he'd become a monster like no other. No matter what the subject he would keep rambling on and on more than Raf would about his latest hacking achievement! It was a nightmare to take in! She was used to getting yelled at by the old rust bucket as she was with human teachers, but he'd gone so crazy with teaching that it was scary...and there was no telling what kind of horrible punishment he could come up with in that lunatic mind of his during his teaching phases!

But she had to do. She couldn't take it anymore! Miko didn't know what she'd do if she had to sit through another of those information cramming sessions! She wouldn't be surprised if she was being used as a guinea pig for some new device Ratchet had cooked up with what all she was able to remember in the endless sea of words that gushed through his mouth! Enough was enough!

"Hey guys...uh...thanks for coming with me and all...I know that I pull crap on teachers all the time...but having you here for THIS teacher...I dunno if I could go through with it without knowing you two were with me...," Miko told the boys as they neared their destination. Jack gave her a predictable smile while the shorter boy just kept his face towards the door they were approaching.

"You? Not go through with pranking a teacher? You're really losin' it aren't ya?," the youngest human mumbled. He still wasn't all that happy with the Asian even after the ride Bumblebee gave him. Jack shrugged in response to the wondering glance Miko gave him.

"You know how unbearing you can get sometimes," he murmured out of the side of his mouth.

"Yeah, but he started it," she retorted.

"Yeah, but you're Miko," Jack stated.

"...yeah...got a point there I suppose," the girl sighed. Raf turned around to face the other two as he came to a stop at the far end of the door that the lessons took place behind. Smiling as cutely as possible, Miko strolled over to him and smiled down toothily. Raf lifted a brow. If she had a happy expression on it meant that she was up to something.

"What?..." he asked suspiciously. Her demeanor still positive, Miko crouched down so that her face was just above his.

"Just wanted to say that I really mean thanks. You are my friend and all that crap. So..." Raf was at too close of a range to the girl to fight back even if he'd known to try. Miko gripped him tightly and rammed his view face-first into her chest. She snickered a bit as she felt the younger boy's body spasming in shock and excitement. For a few seconds his limbs flailed around while his head attempted to comprehend just what was going on from where he was now shoved between her breasts. Then they seized up. His joints stiffened and shook to a vertical stop like a cartoon character. "Thank you Rafael," Miko finished with a giggle before letting the boy go and standing up. Jack had to bite his lip. Raf's face was redder than his glasses. "Flat chest?"

"...y-you're...fine..." Raf stammered through his anxious throat. Jack joined in the calm laughter until Miko got ready to go through the door.

"Hey, wait a sec. What do I get?" Jack demanded.

"Oh like you have a reason to be jealous," Miko chided, "Don't worry. We got all day for you to comfort me for the inevitable guilt I'll feel for messing with the most annoying bot on the team." The girl gave him a wink to which he grinned. With her farewells taken care of, Miko took a deep breath and walked through the door. The boys stood quietly peering into the room until the panels shut again. It took Raf a minute or two to get his vocal cords back in working order.

"Ya know...you're her...whatever you are to her and all. I should probably get going. Optimus wanted to see if I could help him with this message he got from Cybertron earlier. Has to do with some guy called Alpha Gligon or something, so yeah I guess I-"

"Raf, I'm not Miko. I'm not gonna beat you up just cause she's as unpredictable to you as she is to everyone else," he told him sympathetically. Hesitantly the younger boy rubbed the back of his head, "Really though...still think she's too flat?"

"...didn't say it was a bad thing," Raf smiled. Jack smiled back.

* * *

"Well well well, if isn't the new blood," a scratchy voice chuckled. Knowing full well that it wasn't Sideways, Dreadwing whipped around and got into a fighting stance. The display only emitted more laughter from the gray Decepticon. "Please, as if you're in any position to fight," Starscream mused as he looked over his fingers. A growl swept through the blue Decepticon's throat. "I just thought I'd offer you my services..."

"No thanks, traitor," the words hissed through the Seeker's lips.

"Really now? On this foreign planet you won't take an expert survivalist's help? I'll have you know I've been getting along for probably months now on my own. And you're just passing that up," Starscream grinned.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to keep my T-cog where it is thank you very much," Dreadwing scoffed scarring a visible trace of spite and embarrassment in Starscream's face. Since he had no current orders or will to really deal with the backstabbing Cybertronian, Dreadwing turned to continue his trek in the path that he last saw The Nemesis flying in.

"His name's Sideways right?" Starscream's latest attempt stopped Dreadwing dead in his tracks.

"...how do you know him?..." Dreadwing eventually responded.

"Oh he's really not that bad a guy. Knows how to get his hands on quite a bit of power I hear...not that you'd be interested of course ya little lapdog. But he certainly knows how to make the right offers-"

"How do you know him!?" Dreadwing snapped stomping back around to look at the traitor. All he received was a grin.

"Cause he seems to value factions just as little as I do," Sideway's voice whispered into Dreadwing's audio receptor. The Seeker didn't even need to tilt his head to know that the demon was right behind him. "I welcome you our little alliance. Hopefully those wings of yours are the only things you'll lose..."

* * *

"And so what does that mean Miko?" Ratchet asked, an eager smile ever present on his face plating. Groggily the girl lifted her head and rubbed her eyes.

"The trifecta of Paris?" she grumbled a guess. Ratchet slapped his forehead overdramatically before hopping around a bit.

"No no no!" he corrected excitedly, "The Declaration of Independence is what set the colonies free!"

"And good for them," Miko mockingly clapped, "This will sure come in handy considering I'm from JAPAN."

"It's something you need to learn for your stay here, and I suspect for your knowledge of the world in general as you mature," Ratchet lectured.

"No more than I need to learn about how to break your equipment as well as my partner," she snickered, "I mean did you see that last time? It was just "SNAP!" and then "Bulkhead! I needed that!"

"Well, if you wanna know how to do that then how's about we move on to mechanics and engineering!" Ratchet clasped his hands together in an unusual ecstacy considering the subject-matter that Miko had chosen. Huffing, the girl dropped her chin onto her hand which rested on the sole desk in the room. There was just no winning. When Ratchet was in teacher-mode he just went on and on. Nothing would ever get him down. If she said something offensive he'd just warp it into a new thing to discuss and analyze. And she'd been trying ever since she sat down to do whatever she could think of to tick him off. Nothing would work!

Even now Ratchet hadn't registered that Miko was doing anything to put him off! He'd just jumped right into the new subject of drilling servo-mechanics and hydraulics into her poor defenseless brain. Was there any way of stopping the insanity? Miko cringed. Perhaps she should just give up..let the torture take hold as it always did... NO! There was a reason that she'd had Jack and Raf escort her. To keep her self confidence up! To know that she had people there behind her. Even if they didn't fully understand why they were needed, she had to pull through with her intent, for their presence if nothing else!

"And so the gears would then transfer said energy to the propulsion of the clamp that his hand would have on the object," Ratchet finished his explanation with the end of the drawing he was conducting on the virtual board behind him. Miko hadn't been all that in tune with what he had been babbling about, but she still had a general idea.

"Even so, it must be pretty embarrassing to have your stuff broken by him all the time," Miko taunted.  
"That just means I have to improve on my construction. Speaking of which, I have stumbled upon some armoring that just might serve that purpose! It's a combination of diamond and destronium molecules! Why with the combination it can withstand up to-" Ratchet again countered the jibe with his obliviousness. Miko pursed her lips a bit.

"Oh dear, look at this, I have a text during class!" Miko grinned pulling out her cell phone. Finally she got some sort of negativity out of the Autobot! Unfortunately, it didn't go in her favor. Blipping, the device turned off. Miko shook the phone a few times before looking up to see the button that Ratchet had pressed.

"No phones allowed during class," he declared. Narrowing her eyes, Miko placed her phone on the desk. But she wasn't without her own technical advancements. After getting Raf in on the operation she'd managed to coax a little mechanism of her own out of the smaller boy. Her determined expression only grew more anxious as her "teacher" turned back to the board to begin another drawing.

"Now since you brought up phones how's about a little demonstration of radio waves and-" Ratchet's voice died down. The virtual screen he was using as a blackboard had turned off...in fact the entire room had blacked out from the tap Miko gave the controller that she had acquired. Only the emergency lights remained. "...now how did..." Ratchet's eyes drifted to the girl who wiggled the mechanism around happily. Cocking a brow, Ratchet tapped a few sequences into a panel next to him allowing for the power to be restored. Desperately Miko fiddled with her device...but it was no use. Ratchet had overridden its effects.

"Miko, this is no time for games. We are having a tutoring session," Ratchet informed, "But, do you by any chance know just how you turned off the power? It's quite simple if you explain it using Sentinel Prime's Law of-"

"SHUT UP!" Miko screamed. To her surprise Ratchet did as he was told, mostly due to the shock of how loudly she had spoken. He wouldn't have been surprised if the girl had the ability to offline certain machinery with her voice. The red and white Autobot was about to say something back to the rude human but stopped. One look at the girl was all it took to notice how stressed she was. Her eyes were squinting and her hands clutched her hair tightly. "Just...shut up...please...I can't take it anymore..." Cautiously, the medic kneeled down. Did she require a doctor?

"Miko, what's wrong?" Ratchet asked. Her eye twitching, the girl glanced up.

"What's wrong is you will not be quiet..." she growled, "Not for a single quarter of a minute...you just go on and on and on about stuff that frankly doesn't mean crap to me. You NEVER let up."

"Miko, I'm your teacher, I have to-"

"You don't have to do crap!...Ratchet look...let me level with ya. You're annoying as fuck okay? Yeah, some of the stuff you do like that little robo-suit demonstration the other day is pretty cool to watch...but other than that I just can't stand it."

"But Miko you need to-"

"I don't NEED to do this," she glared at the Autobot, "I can study with the others just fine. I just didn't want to. Didn't think that I would have to put up with this crap as the alternative. And before you ask why I didn't get the boys, the ones that set this whole tutor crap up in the first place, to reason with you, give it some thought. Yeah, they're my friends and they'll back me up, but you would just pressure them into letting you tutor me anyway with how pleading you can get when it comes to a project. So...that's it. I've had it, alright?" To emphasize the seriousness of the demand, Miko folded her arms over her chest. Ratchet just stared back dumbfounded for a few seconds.

"Am I...really that bad?..." he asked. Miko couldn't believe how quickly her emotions flipped. Out of nowhere a lump rose in her throat to accompany the guilt she now felt. Sighing, Ratchet slumped over and sat down in front of Miko's desk, his head downcast. Though surprised by the shift in attitude, Miko got up and walked over to the larger humanoid. "Be honest...I can take it," he grumbled, "I just...can't help it...this whole war and everything...I'd practically forgotten just what all peace was like before we came to your planet...that there was a way for society to exist cohesively...no matter how much I wanted to deny it, once you and the other kids got involved in this...I took a liking to you guys...

"I don't wanna see your planet ruined like ours was...I wanna see you kids have a future...so I try to help you when I can...to get reaccustomed to having a world that doesn't have to worry about all the scrap that the past has wrought our race with...I know I can get carried away but...I'm just so eager to explain stuff...to get away from all that sorrow we've had to go through and partake in the lightheartedness that you humans bring us..." For a rare spell Miko was at a loss of what to say. All she could do was give him a sympathetic look and put a hand on his arm.

"Doc bot...you do help us. Without you this team would be a pile in the junkyard and Megatron would've taken over the planet," Miko skimmed through her mind for the right words to use. Ratchet shifted his vision to the girl. It was a miracle that she ever took anything seriously. "You just...gotta understand...we like help and all sometimes but this...day after day, hours on end...I don't mean to make you upset or anything dude but-"

"Yeah yeah, I get it kid," Ratchet sighed. Lazily he shook his head, "Go on and see your friends, I ain't gonna stop ya...but if you wanna avoid this kinda thing, you better not figure out how to break my stuff like your partner. He could tell you stories about what I've put him through for that." Returning the grin, Miko hugged the metallic arm.

"Thanks doc-bot!" she said happily.

"It's Ratchet!" the Autobot called after her, his grumpy demeanor returning. Miko giggled as she slipped through doors before jerking to a stop in the hallway beyond. Had the ceiling been any lower, Jack would've likely hit his head from how much her sudden appearance caused him to jump.

"Where's half-pint?" Miko wondered once her laughter had died down.

"Raf was insisting that Optimus needed his help in decoding some message," Jack shrugged, "...so how'd it go?"

"Eh, he'll get over it," Miko smiled. Jack lifted an amused brow.

"So you don't need any consoling then."

"Don't you go putting words in my mouth," Miko ordered. Jack blushed as she pulled his hand onto her breast. "I got lotsa grief for you to help me get over believe me," she told him with a wink.

-end of chapter-

And we're back! Just to get it out of the way first, updates will not be happening as regularly now. Grandpa went to hospital, came back, and now requires more looking after. Added to that I don't have as much inspiration for this story now, but I will finish it, promise. It's very tasking to keep the characters having their actual show personalities while constantly throwing in all the romance crap that this story requires. Just surprised there are people that actually still stick with this honestly. Mainly I've been working on my stuff on my deviantart page (I'm warahi there), including another project that Miko and Jack are in: "The Mega Crossover of Awesome" comic. Check it out. I guarantee that by the end there will most certainly be something you like in it.

As for this story, obviously Miko can't stand learning from Ratchet. I mean just look at what he did to their science fair projects. But just who sent Optimus that message? What is it about? Who is that girl that kicked Vince's ass? Will Ratchet ever get his teaching degree? Find out the answers to probably none of these next time on Opposing Attraction!

...

Oh yeah, we do an art thing in this fic don't we? Well here's the newest one: warahi deviantart com ( slash ) art (slash) Pwease-324217055


	22. Destiny's Cycle

Chapter 23: Destiny's Cycle

"You okay...citizen?" the machine-clad girl's mechanized voice inquired. Jack blinked a few times to adjust his mind to the rush that he'd undertaken. He'd nearly been flattened by Megatron himself when the female darted towards him at breakneck speed. She'd had to have moved as fast as a car to tackle the boy out of the way! And the aching of the boy's body certainly was enough to prove the theory. Noticing the pressure against him, Jack glanced down directing the girl to do the same. Both of them blushing, they parted and gave each other embarrassed smiles.

"So, ahem, you uh, okay Mr. Happy?" Circuit Breaker repeated the question. Clearing his own throat Jack nodded. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, their eyes just wandering their bodies. To the boy she looked amazing. All the machinery firmly fitting to her smaller body with quite...suggestive parts of her skin being displayed in the absent parts of the outfit...yet there was something about her...that felt familiar.

"...do I know you-" Jack's sentence was cut off by the rumbling impact of a Decepticon's foot who was in the process of dodging Arcee's blasts. Noticing that Circuit Breaker had frozen beneath, Jack tackled her out of the way this time when the foot came down. Again they blushed, their faces just inches apart. But another aspect connected in Jack's mind. The girl was giving him a mischievous smile...

"Our bodies just can't seem to stay apart can they?" Circuit Breaker winked up at him. Jack clenched his eyes to bite back the further reddening of his face. The girl's distorted voice just giggled as he rolled off of her. "Alright buddy, you just stay here and I'll go grab that Artifact." That drained Jack's face. What had been embarrassment was replaced with shock and confusion. She knew about the Artifact? Aside from that she had been completely unphased by the appearance of the Autobots and Decepticons!...who was she? Just as Circuit Breaker was about to make a break for the rocky wall that the object was embedded in, Jack grabbed her wrist.

"What?" she asked jerking her hand back effortlessly, "I'll be careful if that's what you're concerned about Jacky." This made Jack jump quickly followed by Circuit Breaker herself. She slapped her forehead as a curse slipped through her lips.

"...what side are you on?..." Jack managed to ask once the shock had subsided, "How do you know-"

"I'm a good guy, that's all you gotta know," Circuit Breaker sighed, "And I know about you guys cause of all this equipment. It's not just for show. Lets me tune in on frequencies and stuff so that I can keep up-to-date on police radios and all that. You guys just happened to be using your communications when I was in the area so I came to help. Autobots sound nice so I'm getting the Artifact for you. Now just sit tight and wait for that Miko girl you like." The cybernetic hero proceeded once more to race towards the object after giving the boy a pat on the cheek.

Thanks to her equipment, the female darted through the battlefield, laserfire and limbs easily being dodged in the path she'd chosen. Circuit Breaker hardly even noticed the smell of burning metal that billowed out of the wound of a Decepticon she rocketed past. She didn't know how she'd ever gotten any real excitement before she came into possession of her newfound abilities! It gave her such an unequaled experience! Still giddy from the wheeling of her legs, Circuit Breaker looked up with a wide grin on her face. The Artifact was just a few feet above her! Briefly she spared a glance around.

The battlefield was just as unnoticing of her as it'd ever been. At least any of the participants were. From the sidelines she could see Jack gawking at her in the distance. Happy to have an audience, Circuit Breaker waved to him before playfully stretching her arms to dramatically prepare for the short climb. No...not a climb...more of a jump. That's all it took to grab hold of the piece of alien technology. Unfortunately a very familiar jolt surged through the girl's outfit upon making contact with the item. Though she herself was unaffected, the suit immediately became nothing more than a heavy weight that slammed back into the Earth below, the item now in her possession.

Groaning, Circuit Breaker used all the force she could muster to roll over. Already Jack was three quarters of the way to her from where he'd been watching. For some reason not even the laser blast from a nearby Vehicon so much as startled him in his run. He had to get to her! Had the girl been focusing on him she'd likely wonder if he had a suit of his own under his clothes helping him along based on how fast he was moving. Just as he came within about three yards though, Circuit Breaker's limbs began operating at their normal speed again. By the time the panting boy reached her she was up and rubbing her back.

"Woo! Score one for the Cyber Babe!" Circuit Breaker gave a weak cheer as her arm wobbled to hold the artifact up.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jack asked through ragged breaths. Circuit Breaker chuckled and patted his cheek again.

"Why of course silly," she replied dropping the Artifact onto the ground, "just a little fall is all. Nothin' big. Why're ya so worried?"

"It's just...well...Miko once got a pretty nasty zap from one of those things...felt just like that all over again..." Jack told her cringing at the memory. Circuit Breaker's face paled slightly as well. She had definitely felt something but it'd hardly been anything to note other than shutting down her suit for the short period after she'd touched the object. Any of the energy that it'd been giving off had dissipated as had its effects...well all of the effects aside from an annoying sparking that occasionally ran up and down the spinal column of her outfit. Probably just a glitch from the shock that would wear off shortly.

"Well...I'm fine. You might wanna take this though. Should be okay since my suit absorbed the energy," Circuit Breaker reasoned jabbing a thumb back at the Artifact. By the time Jack looked back at where the super hero had been she was gone. Sighing, Jack knelt down and grabbed the object with both hands. It wouldn't be too hard to get somewhere safe with it or to get to someone to contact Ratchet for a Space Bridge. But first he had to find-

"Oh badass! You got it!" Miko exclaimed. Jack jumped at the sudden sound of her voice. His heart pounded so fast with fright that it felt like it'd pop out of his chest. Miko smiled innocently at his hanging face as he turned to face her.

"Gimme a heart attack why don't ya?" he murmured.

"Nah, saving that for when I really need it," she shot back wiggling her eyebrows. Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"So what happened to you?" he asked finally taking notice of the ragged state of the girl's clothing. Casually she patted some dust off of herself.

"Oh not much, just had to deal with Megatron trying to kill me. Had me right in his hands when BAM! I bit his finger and-"

"Yeah, alright tell me later," Jack cut her off happily. Miko puffed her cheeks out in annoyance at him furthering his smile. A sudden shot from a preoccupied Decepticon dropped the expression from his face while jolting the two humans into the air. The silence of distant ammunition-wasting that followed brought their attention back to the fight they were in the middle of.

"...well until then we better get in there and help with kicking some ass!" Miko declared.

"Yep, back to base," Jack nodded. Miko gave her usual resistance as Jack grabbed her and retreated back into the woods surrounding the rocky environment.

* * *

The sun had set casting merely the illumination of the paler and more calming moon of the planet across the land. Though it evaporated the life that the daytime brought, the more slumbering period brought an unmatched atmosphere. With the sound of rushing water lining the walls behind his room, Jack lay on his bed, his television controller in hand. Absent-mindedly he started blowing his hair upwards each time he exhaled while his eyes viewed through the previews of other movies that the DVD he'd popped into his player contained.

It was just the usual crap. Advertisements for the endless stream of unimaginative slapstick that the industry continually shot out. It had indeed been a bleak existence that he'd partaken in before discovering his friends. The blandness that swamped the entertainment industry was just driveling down into the same cliched and predictable boring category to him. Of course it'd give someone like Miko something to talk about...for a day at best before it was lost even in the shallow depths of such a hyperactive mentality. Needless to say, Jack's mind had completely drifted off into more interesting matters. The Artifact...and Circuit Breaker.

Jack took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. His mind set sail through events again. She'd retrieved the Artifact and was obviously just a human using a suit...but how the hell did she get the suit? The technology on it was more advanced than some of the stuff he'd even seen the Autobots use in their common lives. Was she M.E.C.H.'s newest project? If so why didn't she try to kill anyone or make off with Cybertronian parts? She'd been...nice...and...something...something scratched at the back of Jack's mind searching for the answers. It felt like he knew her...and if that was the case he really was worried.

When Miko had come in contact with a booby-trapped Artifact she'd nearly been killed. Jack felt his heart sink into his stomach. He couldn't stand that thought. Those memories...he'd never been so worried and full of regret. Not just because of their relationship...even without that he would still care about her. He'd give his life for her or Raf...he loved them. They were his best friends...and he'd nearly let them down due to his and Miko's little spat...and he'd nearly let himself down. He was supposed to be the leader...and the worst part of the whole new incident? There'd been nothing to show for it! The Artifact had just been some Cybertonian metal that'd apparently been laced with Dark Energon! With the vile substance siphoned out of it it was completely useless! They could've had a rampaging Cyberonian or dead human for absolutely nothing! The only one that'd want that kind of goal would have been...

"...Sideways..." Jack whispered the name as if it were forbidden to break the silent ambiance of his moonlit room. As if on cue the rushing water providing the background noise subsided allowing Miko to enter the room a few minutes later all squeaky clean from the shower she'd taken. Garbed in a loose long shirt, Miko plopped down right in Jack's lap and nuzzled her head up into the hollow of his throat.

"Feel free to join me next time," she told him with a wink. More acting on instinct than thought, Jack rubbed his chin back against her hair. Delicately his hand trailed along her breast and tummy causing her to giggle. Eagerly Miko grabbed his other arm wrapping it around her torso.

"Someone had to be here to get your "Fright Night" ready," he told her wriggling his fingers against her soft skin. She burst into laughter unable to fight back against his tickling, "the verdict so far is that it sucks just so you know."

"Based on what?" she gasped through the spasms of her voice. Playfully she cupped her hands under his to dampen the rubbing sensations that his fingers brought.

"The trailers it has for other movies," he replied. Miko gave a single cross laugh. Knowing that he was her puppet if she had any say in the situation, Miko linked her fingers between his and brought the limbs curling back around her body calmly. For a spell they lay there in silence staring at each other, their arms a blanket for the resting female. Nature synchronized their breathing into a steady rhythm with each other bringing the girl up and down harmonically with each intake.

"Miko...I love you," Jack told her. The girl gave him a wide smile and rolled her eyes. It was cheesy but cute.

"And I love you too," she replied in a robotic sincerity.

"No," Jack said sternly. Miko felt her cheeks heat up as his arms tightened around her pulling her into a squeezing embrace. He wanted to keep her safe. She let out a quiet gasp from the feeling of his lips face digging into her neck. "I LOVE you," he repeated more definitively into her ear. Miko's eyelids lowered halfway, a more primal urge flowing through her body from the interaction Jack was providing.

"Mmmm..." Miko's voice purred, "Well...at least if the movie isn't all that great we won't be too bored during it..." The girl's legs pivoted back and forth excitedly from the burst of air that Jack's nostrils blew across her neck.

"Shall we start it then?" Jack asked quietly dangling the controller in front of Miko's face. Letting out a yawn, she nodded her head. The boy pressed the appropriate button flickering the screen to black followed soon after by the little clips of the companies sponsoring the film. By the time the beginning credits came onscreen Jack took notice of another noise. Slowly he glanced at the girl in his clutches. Miko was snoring in the cutest curled up manner that he'd ever seen. Jack couldn't help but smile as he squeezed her and nuzzled his face against her's.

"Really do love you," he told her sleeping figure.

* * *

"Well well, looks like our bluish friend here just doesn't have what it takes," Starscream mused. A smirk remained plastered on his face as he paced about in front of the scratched and bent Seeker. "Can't even place an infected Artifact close enough for Megatron to be the one to get his hands on it. Pathetic."

"What's pathetic is your value of loyalty," Dreadwing coughed. Oil drizzled down his chin. Starscream just rolled his eyes at the notion.

"Yes, cause it certainly is worth all that you've gotten out of it," Starscream chuckled. Slowly he dragged one of his claws across Dreadwing's chest-plating adding to the others scars he bore and causing his eye to twitch at the scraping.

"That goes without saying," Dreadwing spat, "It is the highest honor to hold your leader of such value." Starscream burst out laughing. Dreadwing felt like slamming his face into the ground right then and there. But he couldn't...not if he wanted to survive long enough to make it back to his master. As the traitor's cackles lessened the duo became aware of another batch of humored noises quieting Starscream.

"Amusing indeed," Sideways agreed stepping into the scene. Starscream did his best to stand more seriously in light of their company. "Such beliefs as complete and utter obedience for a master. There's only one that I would not dare cross, nor would anyone that wanted to remain in this realm of existence. Your little Megatron is but a small grain of sand...but enough of the metaphoric crap, let's get down to the issue. You didn't do your job." Dreadwing could feel his body tensing up as the purple Transformer approached him. Starscream he didn't give a damn about. Sideways however...he doubted even the most sadistic Decepticon would wanna see what went through that demon's calculating torturous mind. "You didn't place it anywhere near close enough to where Megatron was set to land. Now I know we all make mistakes...but...we can't afford mistakes with what I'm setting up...and something tells me that you placed it that far away on purpose."

Dreadwing couldn't have fled if he tried. The next moment Sideways had his limbs yanking Dreadwing's into a pretzel of tangles behind his head. The Seeker did his best to pull but it only worsened the pain to the point of crying out followed by a loud snapping sound. Dreadwing collapsed to his knees biting back the screams that the surges of pain incited. Once Sideways had let go Dreadwing clutched his left hand. His mouth dipped open slightly. Two of his fingers were gone, broken off at the starting knuckles with fresh Energon leaking from the wounds.

"Don't fail again," a dark voice uttered from Sideways. Dreadwing stared at his fingers that dropped to the ground next to him.

* * *

Jack clamped his hands tightly over his mouth. He'd not made any alert noise due to a movie in years. He was sure that his cheeks were lighting up the air around them with how pink they must've been. Though he dreaded to do so he peered down at the girl resting on him. Upon noticing that she was still snoring he let out a relieved sigh. Miko had to be the heaviest sleeper he'd ever known if that scream hadn't woken her up. Hopefully his mom was slumbering just as peacefully past the reinforcement that the walls of her room provided. His breathing back to normal, Jack pulled the girl by the undersides of her breasts deeper against his body causing her to further the action with a snuggle.

"You would never have let me live that down," he murmured as he rubbed his face into her hair. The sniff that he gave it brought about a relaxation that startled him. Her normal scent was pleasant enough, and even after a rough day with their body odor leaking out of them he had to admit it was somehow a guiltily desiring smell when they interacted. But the combination of her natural aspect combined with the grooming of the shower she'd taken provided an intoxicating fragrance that he hadn't been prepared for. Greedily he continued to brush the front of his face against the managed jungle of her head.

"Why do I love you?..." he laughed quietly to himself. After a few minutes, he let out a huff and forced his nose up to rest his chin on her head, "you're so fucking annoying...but you're so...mmm...and you are the only human girl I interact with other than my mom...actually...now that I think about it my house is full of girls other than me." The revelation turned Jack's head up slightly. For some reason it felt a bit silly now that he realized that fact. Jack thoughts probably would've continued on into why Raf didn't tease him with that kind of ammunition or some such nonsense, but his attention had refocused back on the movie they'd planned on watching. As Jack had predicted it wasn't anything special...but for some reason...that last scare had made him scream.

It had felt like the monster had leapt into his very room!...but it'd been more...there'd been a life that sprang forth...a presence instigated by the fear in the back of his mind. A churning dread that scraped at his mentality. Ever since Miko had drifted into slumberland he'd been getting a somewhat heart-wrenching feeling. Every now and then he could swear that he'd see something out of the corners of his eyes. When he dared to look in the directions of the structures all it turned out to be were just optical distortions that generally formed along the rims of vision or mere shadows...but he felt them. Whatever they were he could feel them as if needles were pricking his very veins.

"This movie's gettin' to me," he grumbled. Jack continued his viewing simply for the sake of curiosity. That's the only reason he didn't just switch it off and tuck himself in with his mate for a peaceful sleep. Something about the movie just demanded his attention once Miko had settled in. Likely just some respect to his word of their date. But if the weights on his eyelids kept up he'd have to call it quits. Just as he let out what felt like his final yawn something perked his eyes back open. It was distance but at the end of the hallway that the television now pointed down he could make out another scare. This one however wasn't just another popout. This was moving slower, demanding the patience that modern audiences wouldn't have...but there was something about it...it scared Jack.

The pincer-wielding tentacle just continued to drift towards the camera. Once more the fear flooded Jack's mind. His throat clenched trying to suppress the inevitable scream. The first voice he heard though was not his own. It was more of a background pitch at first, but the closer the tentacle got the more it pounded into his eardrums until finally he recognized it letting out a cry of his own.

"JACK!" Miko screamed. Both teenagers fell to the ground in the tackle that the girl suddenly bounded into him with. The tentacle shrieked past him just barely missing his dipping face. Jack took in a few ragged breaths and blinked a couple of times. He wasn't in bed...no the setting he had landed in was what had been yearning to burst forth from the depths of his subconscious. The vein-like formations that he would occasionally spot out of the corners of his eyes now encompassed the entire chamber they were in. Save for the clothing they were wearing, nothing of Jack's bedroom remained.

"JACK!" Miko cried again. As soon as he could comprehend the situation he was stroking the girl's back. Tears were streaming down her face. In spite of the unsettling dwelling, Jack was doing what he could to comfort the girl.

"There there," he said quietly nuzzling his face against the top of her head, "I'm alive, it's alright..."

"No it's not!" Miko sobbed. Jack could feel her tears dampening his shirt. "I've been trying to stay alive in here for what feels like hours now! I've had tentacles, monsters, and all sortsa other crap chasing my ass! And every now and then you'd show up and each time something would get you and I...I don't know what the fuck's going on! I thought this was a dream, but then I saw you in it the first time and this place has that feeling and-"

"Miko! Miko...calm down..." Jack nursed deepening the strokes he gave her back. The greater attention he gave her at least seemed to soften how harshly she'd been affected by the nightmarish setting. Her breaths, though coming ragged and jittery, had settled a bit.

"I don't wanna be alone again...not here..." Miko choked.

"You won't be..." Jack told her, "...but how do I know this isn't just me dreaming now?" Jack gulped once he saw the girl look up at him. She was not happy at all.

"Stand up," she told him sliding up onto her knees. Not wanting to incite anymore displeasure, Jack did as he was ordered. Upon standing up herself, Miko yanked her fist back and sent it flying right into Jack's stomach. The boy wheeled around a few times gasping for breath as he clutched the site of impact. "Does it feel like a dream?" Miko asked placing her hands on her hips. Desperately Jack waved his hand at her and nodded his head.

"I-I believe ya..." he hacked once he'd managed to regain his composure. Seemingly satisfied with her explanation, Miko walked back up to Jack and proceeded to squeeze him into a tight hug.

"...sorry..." she murmured into his neck, "I just...it feels like I'm running in some endless maze...and not a pleasant funhouse carnival kind of one. I'm sure you can see that." Jack cringed at the squishing noises that the pressure of his feet produced in the ground below.

"Well...found any way out?..." he inquired. Her brows flattened, Miko peered up at him again. "...yeah, stupid question," he confessed blushing.

"Sometimes the passages get blocked off by more of the techno-organic walls," Miko sighed, "and it's not just some "oh you think you're gettin' out of here? Lol, nope!" kind of thing either...this place...seems like it's alive...like the place moves like someone's insides..." Jack's eyes widened. That description...and the feeling that he got from the place...

"...Unicron..." he uttered quietly. Immediately Miko let out a shrill shriek. Jack didn't need to turn around. The same thing that happened to the wall she'd been facing was happening to his! The layers of fat and veins that composed the corridor shifted to reveal a multitude of eyes that peered through the techno-organic mass at them. Jack felt all the color drain from his face. They were not alone. They were looking at the abyss...at evil. The pair had never felt so much like suffocating. It must have been what stage fright felt like with the entire universe staring at you.

It felt like an eternity that the two stood there holding each other before the eyes finally closed back up. It took a few more seconds for Jack to realize that he'd been holding his breath. He had to force himself to start taking in air again. Noticing no sign from Miko either he quickly started shaking her.

"Miko! Come on," he jerked her back and forth until finally she took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"What...the...fuck...was...that?..." Miko panted. After a few more breaths her eyes widened as color returned full-force to her cheeks. Jack lifted a brow.

"What's wrong now?..." Jack asked. Her face hot-pink, Miko peered down. The boy did the same shifting his view between her legs curiously not noticing anything out of the ordinary until he let his eyes run up and down one of them. His cheeks brightened as well. Dripping down the interior of Miko's legs were streams of a yellowish fluid leaking to a puddle beneath her on the floor.

"...if you tell ANYONE about this I will personally put you in the hospital," Miko hissed.

* * *

"And you know what happened next? You know what the heart did? It started glowing and I came out of it!" Sideways laughed slapping his knee joined soon by the two Decepticons that he had taken into his possession, "And I was all like "Frankly I'm quite surprised to see you gentlemen have made it this far." and then BAM! Ol' Decepticon leader pinned to the wall by Unicron tentacles! Ah man I'm tellin' ya, those were the heydays. Got the best paychecks ever back then."

"What about in Cybertron though?" Starscream asked before taking a sip of his beverage. Sideways scoffed.

"Yeah, sure I was there but it wasn't ever the same as Armada. Energon it's understandable that they left me out after the big role I played previously but I said I'd have my revenge. Problem with that however was Cybertron wasn't meant to be part of the Unicron Duology and just confused the fuck out of everyone involved when it was forced into that canon when they brought it to America," Sideways sighed.

"Ah Hasbro," Dreadwing uttered shaking his head, "their cheapness and inconsistency shall be their undoing. They're no better than Capcom at times." The claim caused Starscream's eyes to bulge as he spit out his drink.

"Oh I am sorry but that is just wrong," he hacked, "Capcom's like the fifth level of hell these days. Not at all a fair comparison."

"I thought it was sixth level," Sideways interrupted.

"Eh, depends on the mood they're in," Starscream shrugged, "I know one of the women working on Dragon's Dogma or whatever that was tried to commit suicide from the pressure once-...guys...I think the story's focusing on us again..." The three Transformers looked between each other for a few seconds before tossing their commodities to the side and going into a frenzy.

"It's nighttime right!?" Sideways asked.

"I got it I got it!" Starscream cried. Hastily he darted over to the side of the set and started dragging the moonlit background into camera-view. "This scrap weighs more than an Insecticon!"

"How many fingers was I missing!?" Dreadwing panicked looking his over.

"I think it was two!" Sideways replied quickly. As fast as possible Dreadwing yanked two of his appendages off. "Two on the OTHER hand!" Sideways smacked his forehead, "J-just forget it!"

"Guys, I can't pull the background anymore! It's stuck!" Starscream cried from behind one of the miniature mountains on the set. Half of the sky was dark while the other half beamed with sunlight. Sideways was practically punching his head over and over by now.

"You know what, screw it, let's roll with it! Alright now uh...gotta say something about my plan that involves Megatron and Unicron's influence and crap to pad out the story so the viewers can keep having the Jack Miko crap shoved down their throats!...uh...uh...oh! I got it! Dreadwing! We'll uh...you'll be useful to me! And if we had the Unicron-voice changer right now I'd probably be saying this like that and uh...uh...your position in the Decepticon forces will make you a great hostage!...yeah, that should do...now get the story back to the stuff that's prepped and ready to go you dumbasses!"

* * *

Jack peered over his shoulder. Miko was still limping behind him. Ever since they'd gotten started on their journey together she'd been drifting behind. It was only reasonable given that she'd arrived before him. God only knew how long she'd had to walk on her lonesome before permanent company arrived. Shaking his head Jack sighed. Permanent. He certainly hoped that wasn't the case...but logically...what hope was there? There was no doubt in his mind as to where they were...then again, the Cybertronian element of their reality was pretty damn illogical itself before Arcee had popped into his life. He just had to keep up the hope that there was an exit...that they would find a way out...soon. If he gave up on that then there'd be nothing left. Would might as well just take a seat and wait for whatever the unholy abomination's bodily functions did to its prisoners.

Hearing a brief gasp, Jack spun around and caught Miko. She really was not in the best shape. This had to be at least the fifth time that she'd stumbled. And as with each past incident the environment shifted. The more solid veins that composed the ground beneath them wriggled and warped as though they were waiting for the chance when the dwellers could just not go on anymore. That is that's the thoughts that had been crossing Jack's mind until now. This time the moving of the structures lasted much longer as Miko flung around trying to grab at her back. That's when Jack realized just what the environment kept trying to morph into. On a lump that had formed nearby he could see some cloth sticking out of the linings of the veins. Bedsheets. HIS bedsheets! It was trying to turn back into his bedroom!

Hesitantly Jack looked down at Miko. She was still writhing in his arms, but the more she did the more Jack could make out his room. His eyes continued to dart between his malformed bed and the girl until they caught something else. With an unearthly bellow, a shadow lurched into sight from around the bend of a nearby wall. Cursing to himself, the boy tightened his grip on Miko and started dragging her towards an alcove. Shortly after they'd started wandering Miko had filled him in on what all she'd come across so far.

Other than the sickening habitat they now existed in, she had occassionally stumbled across a human-sized Transformer, what she could only guess was a Mini-con. Given their past history with the miniature Transformers she'd done her best to avoid it. But what really scared her was what Jack now was hiding them from. A hulking monstrosity that trekked through the ghastly caverns. From what Jack had seen so far, the demonic hunched over humanoid had a stark white face with a horn jutting out of the top from of the head. Beneath that its chest seemed comprised of some sort of arachnid appendages leading to two massive red shelled shoulders, one of which lead into a two-bladed bluish hand. The ground rumbled from the thooming of its purple legs. After a series of snorts and sniffs, the beast continued on into the passageways allowing Jack to ease his hold on Miko.

To his relief the rumbling of the ground had seemingly brought the girl back to her senses. Unfortunately this obviously sunk his bed back into the trappings of the chamber...but the girl was not in pain anymore. Jack squeezed her back into a hug and rubbed his cheek against her's. Sure she was rather sweaty now, but it was hardly a price to pay. He needed to let her know he was there...and needed to know that she was.

"J-Jack...I...you should go on without-"

"No," he said sternly. Miko could feel life returning to her as she peered into his locked eyes. His hold on her waist tightened causing her cheeks to flush. "You don't want to be alone," he reminded her taking her hand in his, "neither do I. You...Raf...I won't leave either of you." Miko's eyes could help but start watering. In a snap she clamped her arms around Jack's neck burying her face into it. "Miko...when you...have your little...spasms...you know how the place...starts to move?..." Jack asked. The girl nodded against him. "...it's trying to transform into my room." Miko pulled her head back to look at him.

"...then...if I were to..."

"No," Jack said softly. His hand slid up to cup her cheek. "We are not leaving each other...got that?" Seconds passed before Miko finally gave him an uneasy nod. Jack smiled and gave her a quick kiss before getting to his feet and helping her up. "Now, let's get back to-" Jack's voice was cut off by a yelp from the girl. Even though he should've been worried he was more annoyed by this point at the alarmed noises that came from the overactive Asian. He still needed to know what got to her though. Bracing himself for the worst, he spun around and put his arms out in front of Miko.

What now faced the duo hardly struck of a cord of fear in the boy in comparison to what else they'd come across. The metallic humanoid stood just a foot or two taller than Jack, mainly due to its cone-shaped head. The figure was covered completely in silver and looked as though it had flight-based vehicle parts sprouting off of it at points. A Mini-con...but Jack didn't fear it...in fact...the Transformer seemed just as unnerved as them.

"Let's get out of here!" Miko urged pulling on Jack's arm.

"Who are you?" Jack asked. Miko's jaw dropped. He was talking to it!

"Jack! Being a dumbass is my job! Let's move...NOW!" Miko pleaded. She was yanking as much as she could now...which really wasn't enough considering how much of her energy had been spent on the spasms her body had been going through.

"...Over-Run," a voice responded. Miko's tugs stopped while her jaw dropped.

"...you can...talk?..." she asked. Though still reserved about the idea, Miko accompanied Jack to the human-sized Transformer.

"I knew I saw some...thing in here other than that beast. Tried to stop the one of you...whatever you creatures are. It was the one that has that small development on the front of your bodies. But you seemed too scared," the Mini-con explained. The girl and boy looked at each other for a few moments running what the the Mini-con had said through their heads. Then Miko looked down at her chest.

"...wait...are you talking about...SMALL development!?" she growled, her cheeks pink. Jack put a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down some. Steam still looked like it should have been coming out of her ears of course.

"What is that monster?" Jack asked, more curious about the beast he'd seen earlier.

"That would be Tripredacus, one of the Dark One's most brutal subjects," Over-Run told him, "he...tore through the few of the last remaining Mini-cons...I'm the only one left."

"...wait, you mean you don't work for Unicr-"

"Don't say that name!" Over-Run exclaimed. Immediately Miko quieted herself and swerved her head around. She did not want the eyes opening again. Seeing that the optical units hadn't appeared, Over-run wiped his brow. "No...why would we? He's the most evil thing there is."

"Oh we've just...had a...bit of history with...nevermind," Jack waved his arms around to fling away any remaining thoughts on the matter, "But if you're not then you must be trying to-"

"Get out of here," Over-run finished, "And I know a way out. I just needed to see if your friend was alright."

"She's fine," Jack replied receiving a sour face from her, "and would you mind taking us with...what's that?..." Miko now joined her mate in peering at the Mini-con's hand. In it was a familiar structure...a golden triangle with some kind of jewel in the center. A hint of dismay in his face, Over-run brought it fully into view and looked at it as well.

"It's...my people," he sighed. Jack and Miko gave each other an odd look.

"...the fuck's that supposed to mean?" the girl asked.

"My people...us Mini-cons, we all have...well you'd probably call em souls. When the Dark One had us at the end of our line we acted in desperation. Seeing no other alternative for survival, my people congregated their souls together to form this. The Mini-Con Matrix. Its power's been enough for me to even fend off Tripredacus himself when I've been unable to run from him." As Over-Run told his tale Jack tilted the object about in his hand as if measuring and weighing it. No matter how he looked at it...it felt good. Like there was hope. Seeing that Miko was practically bouncing at his side for her turn, Jack shook his head and held it out to her. Giggling she grabbed it.

Jack and Miko's eyes went wide. Over-Run took a step back. The moment that the metal touched Miko's skin the object glistened lighting up the chamber they were in. The very air around them felt like it brightened giving a new weightlessness to their bodies. The musty stink of the intestinal tracts they'd been trudging through poured through to a much more pleasant fragrance that pricked at Jack's nostrils. The whole ecstasy of the other senses practically blinded their vision to the inner sanctums of the abominable titan retracting. When Jack could comprehend what he was viewing again he realized why the air now smelled so pleasant.

"...my back feels good," Miko stated. Curiously she looked up forcing Jack's face out of her hair. The two stared at each other for a minute or two. Eventually Jack's arm pulled the girl deeper against his body as he himself lie back on the cushioning of his bed.

"What happened...did that...did that really just..." Jack tried to question what they'd gone through in stutters.

"You can never tell some things with our group," Miko sighed. Sleepily she cuddled against his chest. "I'm just happy to be back...in...bed" she yawned. Deciding to toss the thoughts away for the moment, Jack smiled down at her.

"Well might be best just to sleep it off...good night Miko," he chuckled.

"Good night Jack...I love you," she yawned.

"I love you too," he replied ruffling her hair. The moonlight soon draped across two slumbering figures.

-end of chapter-

Well, a lot slower of a chapter this time. Hope it wasn't too boring or anything. Does definitely raise some questions about Miko and where all that Unicron stuff came from and all that. Regardless, it provided an opportunity to toss in some "symbolic" things happening. Either way, here's the art piece this time: warahi deviantart com (slash) art (slash) Darkened-Embrace-326561866


	23. Familiar Visitors

Chapter 23: Familiar Visitors

"Viola!" the Asian girl declared proudly putting one hand in the air above the table. Jack stared at the bowl that'd been set in front of him while his mom took in a deep breath of the fragrance that was given off from the soup-base that her's contained. A smile appeared on her lips. "Soba Noodles!" Miko practically cheered plopping down in the seat in front of her. Immediately she snapped up the chopsticks next to her bowl and dove them into it. Within seconds she'd fished out quite a sizeable amount of the brownish noodles with a cube of tofu and some broccoli entwined amongst the stringy collection.

The excited girl hardly noticed the other two occupants of the table until she'd chewed the portion quite thoroughly. When she saw them she felt like hitting her head on the table. Jack was still getting his fingers to try and hold the chopsticks properly. June on the other hand had managed to get her's into the bowl but each time she would lift a few of the noodles up towards her mouth they would slip out of her grasp and splosh right back into the soup. Miko continued to watch the display in a mixture of pity and amusement until a few specks of the older female's soup splashed onto her cheek.

"Alright alright you two," Miko chuckled hopping out of her seat and strolling over to the counter, "t'would be a great shame you'd bring to my family and all that good stuff if we were in public, but here's some things that you're used to using." After a little bit of fiddling around with the highest drawer, Miko returned to her seat placing a fork next to each of the Darbys as she did so. Jack and his mom shared an embarrassed look until Miko smiled widely and went back to delicately massacring her meal. Realizing that she, of all girls, would not mind in the slightest, the American participants scooped bundles of the soup-drenched substances into their mouths.

Jack's mouth almost dropped back open at the explosion of flavor that swam through the recesses of her cheeks and throat. He'd never tasted such an addicting mild sour flavor before. The broccoli was just marinated in the soup enough so that it broke apart with hardly any effort put into the bite, the tofu softening any harsh snap that might proceed afterwards. The impactful sensation drained through his teeth and swirled about his tongue before he finally swallowed. He'd certainly never had such a kind of a meal before with what he'd grown up eating.

"My Miko, I had no idea you could cook, especially not this well," June Darby complimented, "You need to give me the recipe!" Miko shot a somewhat skeptical look at the woman which quickly vanished in light of the noodles she was busy funneling into her throat. Jack simply remained enjoying his meal speechlessly. Curiously he poked at the heart-shaped fishcake that Miko had deposited into his bowl when his thoughts were interrupted by a loud slurp. The following burp pinkened both of the Darbys' cheeks.

"Mmm mmm mmm!" Miko hummed through her lips as she set her bowl down on the table with a clack, "Well I'm gettin' more!" Miko exclaimed popping out of her chair. Jack sighed. Of course it had to be the girl with the least manners that he'd ever known that his subconscious had had to develop a guilty lust for. It couldn't have been Sierra finally caving in to his awkward conversations or even a nice quiet girl like her friend. It had to be the obnoxious and rude Miko Nakadai. Jack was about three quarters of the way done with his bowl when Miko sat back down and took in a big sniff of her fresh new one. "Mmmmmm..." she hummed licking her lips. Jack did his best to block out the somewhat seductive tone. The table remained rather calm aside from the Asian's tornado of consuming. Fortunately for sanity's sake, Jack was able to finish his bowl before Miko this time.

"That was delicious," he admitted upon downing the last drips of his soup.

"I know right?" Miko cheerfully agreed. Viciously her tongue lashed out and twirled around her lips cleaning any remains of her food off of them. "Mom used to make this for me all the time when I was little! Then it was a nice Bento for lunch! I totally gotta show you and Raf how to make some Onigiri! All we need is some rice and nori! Of course might wanna get some plums or salmon or something if you want any "prizes" inside. Unagi might not be too...wait...Raf! Were we gonna head out to base today?"

"Yep, probably should ask about what might've caused your little...dream last night," Jack nodded getting up to put his bowl in the sink.

"What was the dream about?" his mother asked. Miko's mouth shrunk to a small o as she thought of how to word the response. She opened her mouth to reply when Jack's arm wrapped around her throat.

"Just somethin' to do with our metallic companions is all," Jack summarized pulling the girl into a standing position, "just gonna see if anything might've caused it."

"Right now?" Miko whined, "but my bowl still has food in it!" Jack rolled his eyes.

"You scarfed down the first one in no time. You'll be fine," he grumbled. Despite Miko's pulling he managed to drag her towards the garage door.

"No! No! My Soba! It wants me! Don't worry tofu! I'll write! I'll always remember you fishcake!" Miko's echoes strolled on even after the door had closed. Silence only came when the motorcycle's engine started up and faded a few moments afterwards.

"Well she's amusing to hear tortured if nothing else," June said to herself. Happy that things were now at peace she finished the final bowl of the table. "...damn she's a good cook."

* * *

"GUH!" Dreadwing hacked. He could feel his body painfully chipping away on the ground he was being dragged across. It'd been hours since the two devious Transformers had tied him up. He'd hoped that the scraping would've gotten more bearable over time, but the motorcycle that he was chained to seemed to make the trip worse in some way whenever he thought that he'd begun to feel a sense of leniency anywhere. Whether it be speeding up or swerving around, Sideways countered any relief there might have been.

"How ya holdin' in back there buddy?" the demonic bike asked. He wasn't surprised that he got silence in return. Sideways knew full well that a Cybertronian as stubborn as the bulky Seeker wouldn't give him any pleasantry of conversations willingly after how he'd been treated. "Well fine," Sideways grumbled, "you're gonna get let out of your restraints in a sec."

"Why?" Dreadwing muttered.

"Ah, so you do have a voice synthesizer," Sideways sneered. All of a sudden the motorcycle screeched to a halt causing the weighty passenger to topple across the ground and roll past it. While the purple vehicle morphed into its robot-mode, a gray jet swept by and landed as its humanoid form as well.

"Ah the Nemesis," Starscream sighed rubbing his hands together, "how I've missed your welcoming interior..."

"As welcoming to you as space rust is to a derelict ship," Dreadwing spat. He cringed as Starscream's sharp toe slammed into him.

"Before long it shall rightfully be under my orchestration once more, I assure you," the traitor hissed, "all it'll take is this purple freak's plan working out and then Megatron takes a fall, no offense."

"I take it as a compliment," Sideways shrugged, "But first we need to them out here for the exchange. And since I doubt Mr. Loyalist here's gonna be flyin' that much you're the one that's gonna have to get their attention."

"ME?!" Starscream squeaked. Both Sideways and Dreadwing gave him unamused looks. "Er, uh...well yes...of course...just...uh...be right back..." Starscream gulped. Reluctantly the gray Decepticon hopped into the air and morphed into vehicle-mode not at all happy with what he would soon be having to deal with.

* * *

"You hangin' in back there?" Jack asked. Getting no response he wiggled his body a bit.

"Still not talkin' to ya," Miko grumbled tightening her grip so that she wouldn't fall off of the bike. Jack rolled his eyes. "That was some damn good Soba that you pulled me away from..."

"And I most certainly would not deny that," Jack told her, "But with how late it is already we should be gettin' to base to talk things over about that whole dream thing in case it'll take a long time for the others to research."

"Which means us sitting around base...with no Soba..." Miko pouted. There was hardly anything that Miko could do to deter Jack's mind once it was made up, but complaining when things didn't go her way was her specialty. And besides, she was the one that provided him with quite a few things that he loved. "I can still hear it calling to me... "Miko...come back...we miss you...Jack's mom is boring as hell...and is too overprotective..."," she murmured in a small voice.

"And...we're still headin' to the base," Jack insisted. A moment later he grunted from the bop Miko's fist gave his back.

"The boy just doesn't know how to treat ladies," the motorcycle commented, "and certainly doesn't know quality in one." Jack blinked a few times and looked down at the steering-deck of the vehicle while Miko chuckled inwardly to herself. "Give him a few years and he'll hopefully come around."

"Well thanks for the support Ms. Guardian," Jack grumbled, "and really? This is Miko you're talkin' about."

"Guardian, not wingman Mr. Arcee-would-be-unpleasant-to-be-in-a-relationship-with," the Cybertronian agreed. Jack's cheeks lit up slightly.

"Who told you that?..." the boy gulped as Miko burst out in laughter unable to hold it back any longer.

"Well get's a bit dull around base sometimes and Bulkhead isn't the quietest bot on the team," Arcee informed pulling to a stop in front of a red streetlight, "And I'll have you know that no Bot yet has lost any part of their hands fondling me up."

"So did not need to know that..." Jack groaned running a hand through his hair. He was sure that people in the car behind them could hear Miko with how loud her happy bursts of giggling were getting. "But uh...sorry, I was just teasing Miko was all...I'm sure you're great to feel up-"

"And I get to tease you too, don't ruin it by flippin' the tables," Arcee warned jerking forward to give her passengers a jump, "Besides, you got a mate."

"Well we still never quite came to a conclusion just what our relationshi-yow!" Jack yelped. He knew he deserved that. But the force of the punch had certainly surprised him. Wincing a bit he reached to his shoulder and rubbed it.

"I think it's pretty clear that it's an off-limits relationship kiddo," Arcee laughed, "Especially with how severe you get punished in it." Noticing the green light above, the motorcycle started off to the other side of the street while Jack glanced back at the smirking Asian.

"No kiddin'," he muttered, "you been working out when you're at home or something? That actually hurt a bit."

"A girl can't be tough?" Miko grinned. Jack cocked an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Didn't say that..." he said under his breath. But that didn't excuse just how much stronger she seemed with that bashing that she normally did. It was still her playful self, but something about her strength had certainly changed...could it have been the dream?... Eventually Jack just decided to shake off the pondering. There were much more important matters at hand. The Mini-Con Matrix. What exactly had that all been about? Why had it dragged himself into the dream also? Those were the types of questions he should've been asking.

"Well, at least he isn't a lady killer just yet," Arcee continued the badgering. She was surprised by the silence that followed. Neither Jack nor Miko made any remark...they didn't even seem to be paying attention. Just as Arcee was about to speak up again though a soft beeping caught her and Jack's attention. Curiously the boy peered over his shoulder at Miko. Too quickly for him to spot just what was making the noise, Miko turned her head and put a finger to the ear that he couldn't see. After a few seconds of "hmm"ing and "ah"ing Miko turned back and around and hugged Jack's middle tightly.

"You're forgiven," Miko snickered, "just got a call tellin' me that things are half off at K.O. Burger, which we just so happen to be coming up on..."

"Miko, can't it wait until after-" Jack's voice faded off as he looked at the pouting Asian. Her bottom lip quivered beneath her large pleading eyes. Jack's mental fight lasted a mere second before he hung his head and sighed. "Alright fine..." he grumbled. Gleefully Miko squeezed him tighter and planted a kiss on his neck.

"Thank you!" she giggled rubbing her cheek against his, "This'll be so much fun!"

"Fun?" Jack repeated suspiciously.

"Er, uh, yeah! Eating! Love it," Miko replied, a hint of nervousness now in her voice.

"Well it will be nice to be powered down a bit longer," Arcee yawned, "At least you aren't having to work there right now Jack. With how much you complain about it I..." The motorcycle slowed to a stop as it neared the parking lot. There was smoke billowing out of the side of the fast food restaurant.

"Oh boy!" Miko exclaimed, "wonder what's up!" Before Jack could stop her she'd hopped off of the bike and bolted towards the inferno.

"MIKO!" Jack yelled. Angrily he banged his fist on one of Arcee's handles.

"Go after her. I'll see what's up from the other side," the Autobot told him. Nodding, Jack hopped off as well and took chase after the smaller human. He couldn't believe how far ahead Miko was...or how fast she was moving for that matter! Something had definitely changed. She was not nearly as slow now as she had been in the past. The only explanation he could think of , if it wasn't the dream, was that Miko must've been working out rather viciously when she wasn't around her friends...but that wasn't her style. It might've been Jack's riddled mind or just the sheer speed that Miko now displayed, but ultimately he lost her. She'd flown around the corner of the fast food building and out of sight.

"How...the...hell..." Jack panted. He hadn't expected to get so worn out from such a short distance. It'd only been across the parking lot but he felt like he'd nearly broken his legs with how fast he needed to be speeding to even keep a yard away from Miko! Unable to take another step with his current fatigue, Jack slumped against the side of the building and crawled along it figuring that Miko would have to come out from the other end from where she'd curved her path into. What he saw instead caused him to pull his head back. To his amazement there was a familiar face on the other side. At the back of the vacated building Fowler was leading a platoon of officers against a squad of black-suited people with masks. M.E.C.H. agents.

Realizing the kind of danger Miko was likely already in, Jack threw caution to the wind and darted around the corner into the field of danger only to stop in his tracks. Another familiar face had joined in the fray. The mechanized heroine was zooming around through the gunfire knocking various M.E.C.H. operatives out in the process.

"...guess that kinda kills the her being with M.E.C.H idea..." Jack murmured. He was probably the only one on the scene that could tell that Circuit Breaker was just having fun. Everyone else had their jaws hanging. Had Miko been there she'd be laughing her head off at the look on Fowler-MIKO! The girl now back on his mind, Jack eyed around everywhere as though his face were having a seizure. She was nowhere to be seen! Panic raced through his system as the boy ran to the other end of the building that Miko had disappeared behind. She wasn't there either! The boy rattled his mind for where else he could look when he heard a crash. Everyone turned to look at the blue motorcycle that had appeared with Arcee's fake driver on it. Fowler nodded to his men acknowledging the newcomer.

Spotting the Cybertronian herself, Circuit Breaker flipped over to Jack's side and leaned lazily against his shoulder. Jack stared at the female dumbfounded.

"Though I'd love to keep kickin' ass, your robo-babe over there seems to have everything in hand," she yawned viewing the blue vehicle as it flipped one of the M.E.C.H. agents into the air, "I've had my fun here. Got other crimes to handle. Say hi to Miko for me alright?" Before Jack could speak he found the cyborg's lips pressed up against his. The boy's eyes widened. Something was not right. If Circuit Breaker realized it however she wasn't telling. The kiss had only lasted a few seconds before she'd broken it off.

"WAIT!" Jack called as the mechanical girl started running back through the alley that Miko had disappeared into, "About Miko, have you-"

"Sorry! Can't hear ya Jacky! Got work to do!" she laughed back. Jack's brows furrowed. He was going to find Miko, and Circuit Breaker knew something about what had happened to her! He could feel it! Worry and determination fueling him, Jack took off after the machine-clad human. Before long his legs were moving on autopilot in a speed that he could only wish he'd raced after Miko with. The jogging didn't go unnoticed. Circuit Breaker's eyes widened considerably when she looked over her back.

"Keep it up and you just might get the job of sidekick," she laughed picking up speed herself. Jack's breathing was shallow, his chest pounding. But he couldn't give up. Ignoring the pain building in his legs he pressed forward. That's when the girl decided to end it. With little-to-no effort she bent down and leaped a good thirteen to fifteen feet in the air leaving Jack to gape at the figure as she landed on a rooftop. Circuit Breaker smirked down at him and hopped to another across the street. It was rare that she'd have an audience with his degree of persistence. Might as well put on a good show. Once she had twirled onto about the seventh roof, Circuit Breaker figured enough was enough and hopped down to the back of the building.

That did little to stop Jack though. Knowing that he needed to reach her he'd somehow managed to keep the mechanically enhanced humanoid in his sights long enough to notice her disappearance. In spite of the fact that she'd probably just continued on deeper into town after she'd retreated to the other end of the final roof, Jack swerved into the alley separating the building she'd been on with the one across from it and proceeded to skid into the back alley that it connected to. Relieved to see the cybernetic girl still there Jack zipped behind a dumpster where he inched his face out just enough to keep an eye on her. She was turning her head every few seconds.

Then Jack's brows lifted. Once Circuit Breaker had made sure that she was apparently alone she let out a sigh and closed her eyes. With a sound similar to the one that the Autobots made when they morphed into their different modes, Circuit Breaker's outfit started to tremble. At first it was just bits and pieces of the arms and legs that started shrinking and retracting, but soon enough entire portions of the thighs and shoulders were folding up as well until finally her breast-plating and pelvic regions slid back with the lining along her face. Jack was surprised that his jaw didn't hit the ground and make a loud thud as the shirt and shorts and shoes and striped stockings that the outfit had been covering up uncurled now that they was allowed to drip out of the restraints that had retreated into the back of the shirt. After a stretch the girl pulled her stockings back down into her cowboy-like boots and tied her long hair back up into two pink- highlighted black pigtails.

"Hm...now what should I do for damage?..." Miko wondered looking herself over, "Ah!" Eagerly she grabbed her pink shirt-sleeve and pulled creating a rip in it. "There we go!" Jack felt like his eyes were going to drop out of his head from the revelation he'd just witnessed. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before...it explained so much. It didn't clear anything up about the whole dream thing of course, nor did it explain where the Circuit Breaker suit had come from. But her speed, her strength, hell, her hurt back that time that he'd touched it the day that she'd broken off the teaching sessions with Ratchet. That must've been an injury she'd gotten from...

Though he would certainly have to think through the entirety of the issues that the knowledge presented, now was not the time. Miko was still under the impression that Jack thought that she and Circuit Breaker were two different people. And until Jack had run through in his mind just what telling her what he knew would do to her, he needed to keep up the facade that that was true. Hesitantly he shook his face to get himself as back into the expression of excitement that he had had during the chase and hopped out into the open. Immediately Miko spotted him and grinned.

"Did you-" Jack panted as convincingly as possible.

"Oh Circuit? Yeah she jumped right over to that roof," Miko told him happily, "I was trying to follow her when-whoa!" The girl suddenly found herself squeezed tightly between Jack's body and his arms. Once Jack started nuzzling his face against her's she pleasantly slid deeper into the embrace.

"I'm so happy you're alright," Jack whispered into her ear. Blushing, Miko rubbed her face against his neck. "...you're such a dumbass."

"Would you like it more if I weren't?" she whispered back.

"...don't expect to always be able to use that excuse..." Jack murmured.

"Hasn't failed yet," Miko giggled.

* * *

Desperately Starscream swirled about in the air, his movements swaying to and fro with each strike that was made against them. It'd surprisingly taken him longer than he'd expected to garner attention. He'd even had to sneak aboard the Nemesis itself and practically knock on one of the staffs' doors. But once he'd been noticed he had been flying. Starscream had enough experience with the Insecticons to know that it wouldn't take too long for him to be taken care should he actually let himself fall victim to them. Fortunately he also had quite the experience in flying. But that didn't ensure the lag of all the assailants.

Even as the jet banked downwards he felt a blast streak right over his cockpit! Normally he'd have passed it off as a lucky shot. But not with THIS opponent. That had been TOO close. Figuring that the gray spacecraft would waste not another second before firing again, Starscream panicked. Luckily enough that was what he needed. His random crazed actions somehow managed to breeze him through the rest of the shots that were being fired. And he was coming up on his target! It was probably because he was happy that the terrifying game of cat and mouse would be over that Starscream evened out too much allowing one of the final blasts to smack into his left thruster sending him toppling to the ground below.

"Yaaahhhahhhaaahhhhwoahhh!" Starscream exclaimed as he rolled along the ground into robot-mode. Finally he came to a rest at Sideway's foot.

"Well, no matter how efficient you are you certainly know how to make an entrance," the purple Transformer chuckled earning a sneer from the Seeker. His annoyed demeanor evaporated though as the Decepticon that had shot him down landed. Even Sideways jumped slightly at the sight of the Titan. "I thought he was incapacitated!" Sideways hissed.

"Hey, I'm just doing what you told me! Getting attention! You didn't specify who!" Starscream shot back. Hesitantly he clamored to his feet and zipped behind the demonic being. Sideway's optic twitched.

"Lord Megatron!" Dreadwing gasped. He wormed forward a few steps before meeting the blunt end of Sideway's wrist-cannon knocking him back to the ground.

"Surprised to see you out and about," the orchestrater muttered.

"Sideways isn't it?" Megatron asked. The final few Insecticons that had accompanied him had landed. "Well you see, the doctor gave me a "get-out-of-sickbay" ticket today," he told him, "After you have apparently caused quite the ruckus amongst my ranks..."

"Eh, what can I say? It's a talent," Sideways shrugged. Megatron's optics narrowed. How could such a smaller adversary cause such problems and be so calm with the Emperor of Destruction right in front of him? "Either way tin can, I gots your little second-in-command here and I ain't givin' him up for free. What've you got for a trade?"

"Trade?" Megatron practically spat in disbelief, "You intend to barter with me?...and after calling me a TIN CAN?!" Starscream had to check to make sure his Spark hadn't been extinguished with fright. Even from behind another Transformer the rage of the Decepticon leader was unbearable!

"Yeah, kinda," Sideways replied. Starscream had no idea how Sideways was doing it! He was conversing with the hulking figure as though it were just some random punk on the streets! And it showed. Megatron was staring daggers right through the purple Transformer with no effect! "So...what would you be-"

"Give me Dreadwing," Megatron ordered. Sideways blinked.

"...I'm sorry buddy boy, but it does not work like that," Sideways replied, "You see I offer you a prisoner, you offer me-urk!"

"Your life..." Megatron growled lifting the Transformer into the air. Starscream was contemplating simply darting off as fast he could when Sideways let out a startling laugh.

"Right..." Sideways said, "Look Megsy, do you want the little airplane or not?" That had been the final straw. More viciously than Starscream had ever seen his former master act, Megatron whirled around and slammed Sideways into the ground behind him, his face-plates smearing into strips of metal and oil in the process.

"Yes," Megatron replied happily. Certain that he'd earned his reward, Megatron turned back around and took the few steps he needed to to reach Dreadwing who he extended his hand to. The moment that the Seeker touched his master another participant dug his arm around the leader's throat.

"Well then allow me to offer what you give me in return," Sideways' repaired face chuckled from where he was clinging to Megatron's back. The gray Cybertronian gasped as he felt a dagger-like pain surge through his side. He didn't need to look down to know that the devious Transformer had sunk a Dark Energon fragment into his body. "Namely, YOUR life," Sideways chuckled darkly. After a few seconds of nothing happening though, Sideways glanced down and was again met with Megatron's hands. This time he was flung right into Starscream. "What the-!" Sideways gaped, "How come you attacked me!?"

"I should be asking how you're still alive," Megatron grumbled yanking the shard out of his lower ribs, "But if you must know, my medic pumped me full of enough pure Energon earlier today to see how it'd counter the infection so far...and I'd say it's working quite nicely." Sideways' eyes snapped to their full enlargement beneath his visor as the sound of the shard shattering beneath the Decepticon's foot echoed across the empty field that he'd had the mechanical lifeforms dragged to.

"W-what now?..." Starscream gulped.

"...what you do best I'd suggest..." Sideways reluctantly said. Starscream could only be thankful that Megatron now had another Transformer that he was more focused on as he made his escape.

* * *

"But then I was all like "you know Jack'll wanna see you right?". But by then she was already gone," Miko babbled on. The entire remainder of the trip, after things had been cleared up with Fowler, Jack had been either nodding his head or "uhuh"ing and "ah"ing. Mainly he was a zombie audience. Jack was still enraptured in his thoughts of just how he should handle the situation. Should he tell Miko that he knew her secret? Would it devastate her? Would she merely be miffed? He undoubtedly would have to let her know at some point...but when? When they got to base? Ten years from now? Should he wait for her to tell him on her own? Jack simply didn't know how she'd react.

With Jack's mind racing Arcee was the only real active listener to the tale. In her eyes the matter being discussed should've been why the M.E.C.H. operatives had obviously been targeting Jack, and at his job no-less. But no. Miko was flapping her mouth faster than Optimus on all cylinders as per usual and Jack was the hapless witness of the startling record-breaking talker. That wasn't to say that her information didn't go without merit. This Circuit Breaker that had been worming her way into the mix certainly was an intriguing subject and any information on her was welcome, but she wasn't the one that was in danger.

What disturbed Arcee the most however was that Jack didn't even seem phased. He seemed...lifeless...bored. Had the kind of life that had been forced on him become such normality that he'd begun letting his guard down? Yes she was his guardian tasked with protecting him, but Jack was the most dependable of the humans. Their leader. The one that Optimus Prime had entrusted the Key of Vector Sigma itself to. And if he was starting to drift into a relaxed manner of the caliber of boredom with these kind of events then he needed to shape up. As his guardian Arcee would have to see to it herself that he was brought back to his alert responsibility-holding attitude. But that could wait. They'd finally reached their destination, Autobot Omega Outpost One, and Arcee felt like she was in need of a stretch. The boy and girl had hardly gotten off when the motorcycle morphed into a much taller living machine and started moving her limbs about.

"So, what games should we play today?" Miko asked pulling Jack's neck into a tight squeeze. The boy did his best to pry the strengthened arm from his throat eventually causing Miko to loosen it on her own upon noticing the choking. Innocently she put a finger to her lip and gave a nervous laugh.

"Well the first game we play is "Ask Around About My Bed-Buddy's Screwed Up Dream"," Jack told her. The disgruntled look she gave him felt like good enough payback for the strangling to him.

"Which can wait until-"

"We run into someone like Raf," Jack finished the sentence. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to change the boy's mind, Miko sighed and followed him deeper into the rock-hidden base of the Autobots.

"Alright Mr. Serious Business, what about afterwards?" Miko murmured hoping to somehow persuade Jack to give up the search all-together, "And I'm not seein' Raf or no one so I guess we can-"

"-keep looking," Jack nodded. Miko muttered something under her breath bringing a satisfied grin to Jack's face. There was just something about successfully nagging her that he loved. "And I'd say how's about...Star Wars-

"-Battlefront-"

"-2?..." both the boy and girl finished the suggestion at the same time.

"...we're getting to know each other too well..." Miko stated after a moment of awkward silence, "that was just creepy..."

"Well I'd hope that I'd be getting to know my future wife real well by this point," Jack cooed nuzzling his nose into her neck. Blushing, Miko pushed him back a bit.

"Wife's a pretty big word," Miko coughed. Snickering, Jack rested his head against Miko's rosey one as they continued walking.

"Well if I'm not allowed to be hittin' on other girls, especially ones from other species, I'd hope you'd sorta be expecting this kind of commitment. I'm not a guy that just up and leaves after you've put your claim on me. And besides, you tease me all the time. Figure I should get the chance to have some fun also," Jack told her.

"Yeah, but just one problem there," Miko winked, "Pestering you is my JOB. It'd probably be best if you didn't try to upset the natural order honey. But since you're so keen on the whole hubby aspect I guess I can start asking you for names." Jack glanced down at the grinning Asian curiously.

"...names?" he asked. Miko nodded.

"Didn't want to let it slip just yet...but yeah...I sorta found out...I'm pregnant now."

"YOU'RE PREG-mfff!"

"Just pregnant enough to mess with ya," Miko winked, her hand clamped firmly over Jack's mouth. His brows furrowed as his mind clicked with the realization of the joke.

"Ha ha..." he said dryly earning a smile from his female companion, "fine, you win the "biggest pest" contest. But I am so gonna be the first to glitch my way out of a Star Destroyer."

"Oh in your dreams!" Miko shot back eager for the challenge, "I'll be the one running along the edge of space and-"

"We're going to space?" a new voice asked. Jack and Miko looked down to see the smallest member of the team looking up at them in confusion. He grew even more confused by the contrasting expressions the older teenagers gave him. Jack wore a predictable happy face while Miko's brows flattened in annoyance. Whatever was bugging her though wouldn't be for long with what he had to show them.

"Well, Smokescreen's out right now, but I might as well-"

"Smokescreen?" Miko asked lifting a brow.

"Well yeah, didn't you hear? He appeared in the show so now he's gonna be making appearances here," Jack reminded. Miko shook her head.

"This damn author really needs to write more coherently," she sighed, "I mean I like the dude as much as the next least-liked-by-the-fanbase hyperactive Asian girl, but really? Just throw him in here like that? No finesse? Don't even bother to make up an excuse that he's just been offscreen all the time?...god damn this writer sucks..."

"I doubt anyone's in denial of that," Jack laughed lightly, "But hey, at least it's a fun story...well for us anyway. The Cons apparently haven't been doing as well but-"

"Guys," Raf snapped his fingers. Miko and Jack glanced down at him. "Story?"

"Oh right! Uh-Hiya Raf!" Jack waved, his cheeks reddened with embarrassment, "We needed to talk to you abou-"

"Hold that thought!" Rafael ordered putting a finger into the air. Miko and Jack gained rather quizzical expressions. "Got something to show you two," he said wiggling his eyebrows. The older humans shared a suspicious glance before returning their gaze to him. He was already halfway to the doorway on the left wall. "Come on guys!" he said waving his arm. Mainly out of curiosity Jack and Miko followed.

"You know how I told you Optimus needed some help decoding some message?" Raf asked.

"No-"

"Yes," Jack said at the same time Miko gave her response. The girl pursed her lips causing Jack to rub the back of his head. "Uh...it was while you were breaking off with Ratchet..." he told her.

"Well it turns out it was from this guy called Alpha Trion. And this is what he was telling us to prepare for," Raf explained opening the door. Jack and Miko's eyes bulged. "Jack and Miko, allow me to reintroduce you to Jack and Miko," Raf announced spreading his arms out to the figures on the other side.

"Sup?" Miko's clone greeted.

-end of chapter-

I myself had some soba last night. Yummy stuff. Dad's makin' chile for tonight right now. Gonna have to go back out for the crackers he forgot though. Either way, here be the latest chapter!

So plot twists. Miko's really Circuit Breaker and the clones are back...yeah, sorta plain and simple stuff to notice there. How will this affect the future of the story? Stay tuned to find out! Here's some yummy soba picture I did of Jack and Miko: warahi d()e()v()i()a()n()t()a()r()t (c o m) (slash) art (slash) Cultural-Learning-Curb-329507406?ga_submit=10%3A1348785093


	24. Tourists

Chapter 24: Tourists

A soft humming came from the throat of the red and white Autobot as he toiled away at his latest creation. It had taken a good few weeks to get the couplings and rods and everything all compacted and into place, but it would be worth it. With the adjustments he was making to the harness it would more than likely allow any human to at least keep up with Cybertronians when it came to speed, if not enhance their musculatory systems enough so that they could partake in the heavy lifting that they do. Of course it wasn't meant for combat purposes or anything against actual Cybertronians, at least not until the Earth military was forced into the alien war.

It was just something that he'd been tinkering away with. Ratchet always loved fiddling with mechanics. He needed to to be as revered as he was in the medical field for his people. But he didn't have an obligation to make such contraptions. There was no motive, no incentive. It was just...nature. It felt right to mess around with scraps and pieces that he found lying around. Always had. It's partly what had intrigued him to become a medic in the first place. With an entire species composed of machinery it was a literal goldmine to invent with. Nothing was quite as satisfying as composing a new technique to reroute someone's oil circulation or find another way to filter a their Energon supply. The sheer concept of creation was what drove him. It was his passion in life. The whole world could be falling apart and he'd still just harmonically string through some wiring to patch things up.

Smiling to himself, Ratchet reached his hand over and started using his welding torch to seal up the next patch of bubbles that had formed into the molding of the metal he was using. At least he thought he was. Curiously the medic peered down at the sealing device to find that no flame was coming out. Wondering turned into annoyance as he looked the gun over. Nothing seemed wrong with it. Trailing his vision along the cord that connected it to the nearby wall for power though Ratchet's eyes narrowed. He wouldn't have expected anyone other than her to be interfering with his work. It was practically her role to get on other peoples' nerves, even moreso than that new Smokescreen Autobot. Ratchet wouldn't have cared if Smokescreen had been a student of Nexus Prime himself with how he seemed to compete with the human girl for the "Most Intolerable Teamate of the Month" award.

"With how much crap ya got hooked up here I'm surprised there's even power left for the rest of the base," Miko commented noticing the Autobot's annoyed expression towards the cord she'd unplugged, "You mind if we make room for some more video game outlets?"

"Yes, I somewhat do," Ratchet grumbled. Miko backed up upon having the welding cord plucked out of her hand and plugged back into the wall. "If you have to have more games then bug Raf. He knows how to get ROMs and scrap like that," the Autobot huffed, "I'm busy."

"I'm busy," Miko mocked. Just as Ratchet whipped his head back around to glare at her, Miko slipped her hands behind her back and started whistling innocently. Muttering something about scraplets Ratchet returned to his invention allowing the girl to stick her tongue out at him before she herself started towards the steps to the lounge area. But she had seemingly gained the ability to teleport. Ratchet almost fell over in shock once he'd picked up the welding torch again. Miko stepped out from behind one of his computers!

"What in the name of Primus!?" Ratchet gasped clutching his chest, "Miko, how did-what the-you were just-"

"Oooo! A welding thingy! Can I try it?" the girl asked excitedly. Before Ratchet could protest the girl had wrapped her arms around the heavy object and started stumbling about. The medic quickly put up his arms to protect himself as the flames billowed out of the mishandled device dousing a good portion of his workspace with heat. After a few seconds of unheard shouting from the Autobot over the roar of the flames Miko toppled over. With the trigger no longer held down the fire quickly extinguished itself from the tip of the twirling gun. Ratchet gawked at the quarter of his table that'd been melted in the process.

"Hells yeah, now that's what I call pyrotechnics!" Miko cheered thrusting a "rock-on" sign with her fingers into the air. His eye twitching, Ratchet leaned over, picked the girl up between his fingers, and walked her over to where he had seen her next to the outlet earlier.

"Now you get back up there before you fry the rest of my workplace," he grumbled pointing a stiff finger at the stairs leading to the lounge area. Miko rolled her eyes furthering the unhealthy look that he was giving her.

"Yeah yeah I'm goin' Mr. EMP Generator," she yawned moving her thumb and fingers as a mouth. Ratchet contemplated shooting some snide remark back at the human female when something wracked his brain. How the Pit did she know about an EMP Generator? Sure humans had them on Earth, but she wouldn't pay attention to the scrap, nor would she know the relevancy that an EMP pulse had to a Cybertronian medic. As he continued to wrack his mind for even the slightest clue as to why she made gave him the nickname that she did Ratchet didn't realize the very same person walk up behind him.

"Yeah, so Medabot, I was thinking about the ROM thing you said earlier when-" Miko's voice became lost in the confusion and horror of the Autobot's fearing mentality. Ratchet's eye was twitching nonstop. He'd seen her. He had seen Miko himself walk towards the steps. And yet her voice was coming from behind him! From the opposite direction of where she had walked to! His mind was on the verge of collapsing in on itself from the paradox that seemed to want to enrapture him in its torment. Taking a few deep breaths to cool down his frighteningly active inner body parts, Ratchet closed his eyes and turned around. Sure enough when he opened them Miko was at his feet.

"-and that's why I think I'm entitled to plugging another video game system in," Miko finished, her arms folded over her chest. Ratchet was still quiet in eternal search of just what was going on. Then it hit him. He didn't know how he couldn't have seen it before.

"Miko...I don't give a scrap about what you said, you're not wasting another of my sockets with one of your brain-rotting contraptions," Ratchet told her. Miko scowled at the Autobot as he lifted her into the air and personally brought her over the railing of the lounge area to set her down next to the Miko that had troubled him prior. "And please tell your Cybertronian cousin not to mess with my stuff," he sighed, "One of you is more than enough for the entire team." Once Ratchet had rounded the corner to his work area the two Mikos mouthed his final words before staring at each other and blinking. A grin spread across the Earth-dwelling Miko's face as she slipped her arm around the Cybertronian one's neck. "We are going to have so much fun," she chuckled.

"You know it," the second Miko winked.

* * *

"And she actually made it into the car?" Jack asked his Earthly counterpart. The pure human nodded his head.

"One of the scariest things I'd seen her do," he sighed, "If she hadn't made it then...don't wanna think about that. Not to mention how that Sideways guy would've made sure she was dead afterwards." A shudder ran across the boy's spine from the thoughts. The alien Jack was visibly disturbed as well from the mental images.

"Yeah...that Tarantulas guy uploaded quite a bit of info on the types of forces that Unicron has. I doubt you even know a fraction of how violent that maniac can be," he told the earthling, "And believe me, I know how wreckless Miko can be on top of that. You would not believe that kind of scrap that she's put me through back on Cybertron. Nearly got us eaten by a swarm of Scraplets before I suggested us turning back into our human-modes. And don't get me started on the time she thought it'd be funny to go fishing for Insecticons..." Jack exasperatedly sighed at the mere pondering of how that must've gone. "Doubt Alpha Trion was too thrilled about the bite marks we got," the Cybertronian muttered.

"Alpha Trion?" Jack repeated curiously. He may not have known all there was to know about their friends' planet, but he did know that that character was of quite some significance whenever he was brought up. His double nodded.

"Yeah, old Autobot with a beard and mustache an-"

"Transformers have facial hair?" Jack laughed lightly. The other Jack smirked a bit as well.

"Well...not exactly hair...sheets of metal in the shapes of hair patterns. Don't ask me why they have them. But either way, yeah. He's sorta the reason we're here to begin with. He's a really old wise Autobot that knows all sortsa stuff both from the past and future somehow. After we'd stayed with him for a while he told us that our "job on Earth", whatever that is, wasn't done yet. My guess is he probably finally just got fed up with Miko and handed us back over to you guys. Not that I blame him of course."

"Who could?" Jack chuckled, "At least you don't have her doing EVERYTHING with you. Can't tell you how often we interact now that we've sorta...uh..."

"Mated?" the other Jack offered. Blushing, the first one nodded.

"She can be pretty...unnerving sometimes...just be thankful that you don't have a mom you have to share her with when she comes over," Jack sighed, "hope the tour wasn't too bad though. I know you must not have gotten the chance to really stroll through here back when you were assigned to kill Optimus."

"Oh we strolled through a bit more than we should have," the other one murmured, "Sorta hard to keep-"

"Miko focused," the human Jack finished. If there was one thing creepier than finishing Miko's sentences it was finishing his own. He and his double thought the same way. Jack could only figure it must have been like having a split personality manifested and interacting with you. It'd been that kind of awkwardness ever since he'd started showing the clone around the base. It was so strange...and yet...so much more peaceful than his usual company. Unfortunately for him the serenity would not last. The moment that they entered the main lobby a large metal I-beam fell down just inches in front of them causing the Jacks to jump.

"Oh Jack!...and Jack...Sorry about that!" Arcee exclaimed on as if on cue. As like a puppet on strings, Arcee bent over to move the fallen structure in their path. Though she was lifting it, there was something about her motions that were...off...it was like she was acting. "This base is really in need of repairs. Gonna have to talk to Fowler about that. Great reaction time by the way, though I'd jump a bit faster next time if I were you," she told them propping the beam back into place before shooting a smile down at them. Jack could've sworn he saw a hint of Miko's mischief in her eyes.

"...uh...thanks..." he said slowly. Just as nervously the other Jack followed him to the steps of the lounge area. Neither of them thought that a simple walk through the base would be so tiring. And to have that little deathbrushing experience happen right afterwards ensured their desire to sit down and at least catch a breather. After trudging up the steps, the Jacks plopped down on the couch. Lazily the clone grabbed the remote. As he flipped on the television he heard an "oof!". Looking over his side he could see the human Jack with Miko in his lap hugging him sweetly.

"Hewwo..." she cooed nuzzling her face against his. The clone bit back his laughter towards how red his original's face was getting.

"Um...hello Miko..." Jack said horsely through his tigthening throat, "What are you-"  
"Shhh! This is the best part!" she giggled. Jack and his clone exchanged suspicious glances before a loud yell reached their ears.

"MIKO! Come on! Where'd you go? You know I need that-"

"I'm in here Bulky!" she yelled causing Jack to cover his ears.

"What?" his voice questioned from the other room, "But weren't you just-hey, how're you back here now!?" Miko counted a few seconds and giggled again.

"Cause I be magic bitch!" she laughed loudly.

"How're you...oh...this is gonna be a fun visit..." Bulkhead grumbled finally realizing how the girl was pulling off her "teleporting" trick. Gleefully Miko giggled and buried her face into Jack's chest. Jack shook his head at his clone who just gave a sympathetic smile back at him.

"At least it's not an Insecticon she's trying that on," he told him, "besides, looks like you're getting some good attention right now. Considering who I am I know you must enjoy it from any girl."

"And it only gets better now that another me is here," Miko winked to her Jack, "double the me, double the bed buddies..."

"And you realize you'd be having a threesome right?" Jack reminded, "as in you'd be with a guy and another girl..."

"Hey, it's just another me, we know how we think," Miko laughed after giving him a kiss on the cheek, "besides, aren't guys supposed to like having more girls in bed? And before you suggest it, no. Never Sierra." Jack blew a puff of air out of his nose in disapproval. "And don't worry, there's ways we can make your mom think there's only one of me visiting."

"I doubt we should try that," Jack's clone voiced his opinion in an attempt to save his counterpart from the grave of embarrassment that Miko was digging for the original, "No world is ready for the force of two Mikos."

"Eh yeah, you need her for yourself probably anyways," Miko shrugged. Then her expression lifted a bit, "unless...you wanna join in-"

"I think it's safest if we just stick to two," Jack told her through clenched teeth. Satisfied with her pestering, Miko nuzzled her face against his and slouched back into his lap painting Jack's face crimson again.

"Yeah, besides. Have you even asked my Miko about that? I mean we don't really have the relationship that you two do..." the clone informed.

"Oh pffft," Miko dismissed blowing air through her lips, "like I need any of that. I'm her. She's me. I know how she thinks. After spending that long with a guy of Jack's height and slenderness I undress them with my eyes everyday whether or not I try to stop myself if I'm bored." Now Jack's clone was the one with lit cheeks. "Don't worry, after THAT long on a planet alone I'm sure she'll at least feel something more than JUST a friend about you. I mean you do put up with my crap after all," Miko told him.

"That just means I should see a therapist," Jack's clone muttered rubbing his temples.

"Just give in to the chaos..." Miko dramatically declared wrapping around her Jack seductively, "one of you already has...it's just a matter of time...you've already tasted it...once you indulge yourself, chaos becomes you..."

"Uh...Miko..." Jack hoarsely said. Lifting a brow, the girl looked down at the boy she was curled around. "...can't...breathe..." Giving a nervous laugh, the Asian fell back into Jack's lap releasing his windpipe from her arms. The clone was laughing lightly into his hand.

"I honestly don't know what's worse, watching over her or being "with" her," he chuckled. Miko stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh I'd say being with her definitely," Jack nodded earning him a half-hearted smack to the cheek. He smiled back nuzzling his nose against her's.

"Primus it's so fun to mess with the Bulkmiester again," Miko's voice giggled. The group turned their attention to the stairs to see the girl's clone stretching. It didn't take long for her to spot the couple on the couch and whip out her phone to snap a picture.

"This'll be great blackmail! I'm so showing this to Jack and Raf and...wait..." the clone's words quieted, "...yeah that plan totally fails considering I'm not the original...course I could try killin' you off aga-"

"Gotta cut through me first," Jack shot a glare at the Cybertronian. Miko's clone rolled her eyes as she waltzed towards the humans.

"Relax Jacky," she laughed, "should be able to take a joke with how much time you spend around the original me. I mean it's not like I'll just up and KILL you for no reason." Miko and Jack's heads sunk back from the emphasis that the clone placed on the lethal word. But that wasn't the only reason. As she hissed it her bug-like mandibles started splitting out of the sides of her face while her teeth sharpened. It'd only been for a split second but it had certainly been enough to get their blood pumping.

"Miko, cut it out," Jack's clone sighed from his chair.

"Eh shut the scrap up," Miko's clone scoffed before jabbing a thumb back at him, "This guy just doesn't let me have any fun...course you probably know that..." Miko smiled up at her glaring mate.

"He has his...appeals..." Miko replied. The clone peered uncomfortably at the Earthlings.

"If you say-"

"Get down!" another female hollered. Instinctively Jack tackled the girl clone in front of him to the ground just as a large metal object sailed over their bodies. Coughing and hacking, the group got back to their feet and looked at the spherical structure that'd smashed into the lounge area.

"THE TV!" Miko screamed rushing over to the impact site. Desperately she dug a piece of the viewing equipment out from beneath the object. The chunk of television remained in her hand for only a few seconds before it crumbled to scrap. Tears slid down her cheeks. "We...we...we...you...our relationship...it can't end like this!" Miko cried throwing herself onto the ground in front of the remains, "God! What did I do wrong!? Why must you punish me!?"

"Miko, get up before we have to have Ratchet pick glass out of you," Jack sighed. Rubbing her eyes the girl wobbled back to her feet.

"There there, I know how it feels..." her clone told her patting her shoulder.

"Sorry, haven't lobbed in a while. Sorta need to get back into the hang of it," Arcee apologized. Jack gave an expression of disbelief and confusion to the Autobot that had appeared at the side of the lounge area, "Great reflexes by the way. Next time though I'd pull her closer to you. It'd save ya the trouble of throwing your body around."

"...next time?..." Jack repeated worriedly, "Arcee, you nearly killed us-"

"YOU KILLED THE TV!" Miko wailed before allowing the comfort of her clone to subdue her again. Jack rubbed his forehead. He really did go through more than a boy his age should have to from Miko alone. He didn't need a Cybertronian partner smashing anyone with some alien sport. Apologetically Arcee smiled at the group.

"Yeah...sorry...I know! How's about a ride? That always cheers you kids up! Jacks with me and Mikos with Bulkhead, you can show your clone just what all he can do no-"

"Hold up! What about Smokescreen? He was the one taking us in the script wasn't he?" Miko asked suddenly breaking out of her depression.

"They decided they aren't gonna have him in the story after all, what with his being an ancient artifact and the base getting destroyed in the show and all that conflicting crap," her clone told her causing Miko to slap her forehead.

"Okay...fine...Bulkhead...whatever..." Miko approved through clenched teeth, "...stupid ass story..."

* * *

"Oh what are we going to do, what are we going to do?" Starscream panicked. For the last half hour at least he'd been pacing back and forth, his head clutched in his hands. "Megatron will surely have our Sparks for this indignity! Oh what will we do!?" All the while Sideways had been silently watching the gray Seeker, his mind forever plotting.

"Well, whatever the hell you're doing sure ain't helping," the purple Transformer finally commented in a following rare moment of quietness from the Decepticon. Biting back the worry, Starscream glowered at his latest partner. Yes they had acquired Dreadwing, but for what? All that resulted from that was him getting taken right back by the head of the Decepticons himself! Starscream certainly had the burn marks to prove that venture. No matter how much he strove for greatness, all that Starscream was met with was backfire after backfire. No matter the items he acquired nor the partners. And Sideways was proving just as ultimately invaluable. Sure he had the power and terror that Starscream himself had so longed for, but all of that was for naught if things weren't set up correctly.

"Better than just standing around!" he spat. Beneath his visor Sideways rolled his eyes.

"Dude just chill. You're a former scientist right?" Sideways proposed, "stop cryin' and put that supposed brain of yours to work for a minute. THAT is what's gonna help. And that's what I'm doing." His teeth clenched, Starscream whipped his head back to the front of his body. He didn't need lecturing. Sideways was right though. After a few more seconds of whining, Starscream slumped to the ground in a huff and closed his eyes. What all did he know? This Sideways guy was in Unicron's, Primus forbid, employ and Megatron was succumbing to constant infection that Sideways had been spreading. To what end? Starscream didn't care. No matter Sideways' motive it would mean that Megatron would be indisposed eventually...but not for now...because of his constant attention that he recieved...because of...

"...Knockout..." Starscream whispered quietly. Sideways glanced at the lanky Decepticon.

"The medic?" he murmured, "What about him?" Starscream's small mouth quickly spread into a grin as he lifted a wicked smile to the purple Transformer.

"You wanna get Megatron's infection rising right? Then let's get rid-"

"Of the Cybertronian that's taking care of him!" Sideways finished. He could now see Starscream's teeth beneath his devious smile. "...guess you are smarter than some of your other selves..."

* * *

"This be how we ride!" Miko's voice exclaimed through Arcee's steering panel, "ain't that right Jacky boy?"

"I just hope that Bulkhead can keep driving with two of you," the boy replied. The Jacks grinned at each other as the green car to the side of them started swerving about crazily igniting screams from their motorcycle's radio.

"Well at least I won't have to deal with her leaving some oil to walk through outside my sleeping chambers from now on," the boy's clone mused. The girl's one grinned toothily through the passenger window of the green car. "Course now she'll probably start using some lethal isotope of Energon instead..." he muttered.

"At the rate Bulkhead's going there might not even be a Miko left to prank any of us...Primus forbid..." Arcee sarcastically remarked. The Jacks just continued watching in amusement as the girls inside the car bounced around from the rocking of their vehicle. The Autobot was just playing, but to a passerby it'd probably be a rather frightening ordeal to watch. The car jerked at rather drastic angles like a snake writhing with its latest prey.

"Must...shake...extra...Miko...out!" Bulkhead said faking emphasis on each word, "too...many...Mikos!"

"Oh we'll show you too many Mikos!" the Earthling of the car told him. A large smile on her face she grabbed the steering wheel and jolted it to the side spinning the ride a bit, "if you're gonna be difficult you better be ready for some fightin' back!"

"Alright Bulkhead, knock it off. We do not need HER driving," Jack rolled his eyes as he spoke into Arcee's radio.

"Oh roger that," Bulkhead eagerly agreed. Miko glared at the steering wheel as it wobbled her hands off with its own life. "Not like I'd let her do it for too long anyway. You wouldn't imagine how long it took to get the chocolate bars and magazines out of my tailpipes last time!" Miko's clone shared the baffled expression that Jack did with his clone. The human chuckled as a light blush came over her.

"...I have much to learn," her clone grinned.

"Don't worry, I ain't gonna leave me hangin'," Miko winked.

"Goodie..." Bulkhead sighed.

"Don't worry Bulkhead, we know you can keep her out of trouble," Arcee told him.

"Yeah, ONE of her," he reminded, "Don't blame me if things in town start suddenly blowing up."

"He's very creative..." Miko murmured rubbing her chin, "You getting all this?"

"Every word," her clone nodded. Viciously she scribbled in a notepad that she had procured from seemingly nowhere, "Bulkhead, would you care to describe just how you think the explosions might start happening?"

"Well there was a pretty good trick I learned back when I started as a Wrecker. Used to be just for leveling buildings when construction was going on but-HEY!"

"You didn't get to how you actually planted them," Miko told him.

"Miko, this drive's for fun and to show the clones around, not to cause property damage," Jack said, "That means no blazing through M.E.C.H. operatives, no jumping across rooftops, and certainly no destruction." Miko breathed an exasperated stream of air through her nostrils and lowered her eyelids. A few seconds later they widened a bit. Jumping across rooftops?...taking down M.E.C.H. operatives?...sure she knew that she could kick ass and save the day just like anyone else...but where had those suggestions come from?...she'd only ever gotten the opportunity to do that as her alter ego... "Miko..." Jack's voice said more sternly.

"Alright alright "dad", no blowing up your crappy Burger Stand," she spat.

"Wait, you were going for that? M.E.C.H. already tore up a lot of it earlier, I guess it wouldn't exactly be too bad if you-"

"Too late," Miko smiled clicking off the transmission with the boys. She giggled seeing Jack groan outside. He glared at her before lowering his head to Arcee's steering deck to speak again.

"Well guess you're on your own Bulkhead. Town's only a few yards ahead. We'll be seeing you later. Good luck," Jack departed waving to the vehicle with his clone, "AND BE GOOD MIKO!"

"You ain't my host parents!" she yelled back turning Bulkhead's radio on again. Before she'd even finished speaking music blasted her back into her seat. Her eyes spun about in their sockets from the impact. "...bleh...what the heck was that for?" she complained eyeing the controls of the car.

"Might be a bit hard for you to realize but us Cybertronians can lose our hearing also from high frequencies. I prefer to keep mine," Bulkhead told her. The girl gave the machine as apologetic a smile as she could muster accompanied by a pat to the dashboard.

"Me not yell in your ear," she told him.

"Right," her lookalike laughed. Miko put a finger to her lips causing her clone to gasp and cover her hands over her mouth. "I mean of course she'll never do it again. She's the most honest and sincere girl that has ever lived. I would know after all. I am her," the clone smiled through her loosely constricted fingers, "although that might not actually guarantee anything considering she apparently has feelings for that boring ass boy that tolerates her..." Miko giggled along with the clone until the last sentence at which point her cheeks lit up a bit. Taken aback she lifted her brows.

"Well since I am you then that must mean that you DO have some kind of feelings for YOUR Jack," Miko countered, a confident smile gracing her lips. Her clone's coloring joined her's.

"Ha! As if!" she scoffed, "why the scrap would I ever think about Jack like that? He tolerates me and I get on his nerves. THAT is our relationship...and it was YOURS if I've caught up on everything that's happened so far." Miko's eyes went to her head as her mouth began to waver a bit. There was no denying that she loved annoying him but...perhaps that only lent credence to her own reasoning...

"Jack's a responsible kid that keeps Miko in line. Wouldn't trust her with many other guys myself," Bulkhead told the clone.

"Oh you stay out of this," the Cybertronian girl waved off the interruption. Bulkhead's radio stations flipped back and forth in annoyance.

"Alright Ms. Loudmouth Number Two, my job's just to protect ya. No need to put up with this kind of conversation. One question though. Where do you Mikos wanna go?" Bulkhead asked.

"Just drive around a bit," both of them told him at the same time. The next few seconds were lapsed by a rather awkward silence save for the natural rolling of the car.

"...this is gonna mentally scar me for life..." Bulkhead muttered to himself. The Mikos grinned to each other as if being operated by some computer to make the exact same movements.

"Well we're alike enough to act the same," Miko figured slouching back in her seat, "so the question remains as to why you're not after your Jack." Her clone scrunched up her face at the suggestion. Miko chuckled in her throat.

"Well maybe you're the one that's supposed to be more like me," she replied after disgustedly hanging out her tongue. Miko lowered one of her brows. "I mean I am the one that hasn't been tainted by seeing Jack...with less clothes than he should have," the cyborg continued shivering at the mental images she painted. Miko glanced at the radio that joined in the disturbed state. The human simply rolled her eyes at the wimps that she was surrounded by.

"Oh puhlease," Miko drolled, "Like you haven't fantasized about him yet." Her clone's expanded eyes twitched.

"Yep, that's it. I'm tunin' out. Let me know when you girls want something that I can stand to hear," Bulkhead told them clicking out of the conversation.

"Alright ya wittle scared scwaplet," Miko taunted pursing her lips together. To her surprise her clone still was making faces.

"Do not make me think of THAT again," she managed to stutter after about fifteen seconds. Miko's previous face returned curling into a bit of a smirk. She never thought it'd be so fun to tease herself before.

"Why?" she cooed moving her face closer to her clone's, "Is it cause you don't want to think about that?...or is it because you don't WANT to think about him like that?..." It was rare that quietness even occurred once in a conversation with the hyperactive Asian, let alone the concept of two of them being engaged in one at once, but here it happened twice. Towards the end of the unspeaking spell the alien's brows furrowed into an offended look.

"...we're friends...I just want to get his attention sometimes...show him that I'm there...that I'm not useless...I mean do you know the effort I put into those pranks?...just want him to lighten up sometimes...and try to show him that I can help on adventures and stuff..." the female sighed. The human one's expression dipped a bit from the more solemn atmosphere that her doppleganger had sunk them into.

"And why do you go that length? Do you want the same kind of attention from that Alpha Pilon guy or whoever?" Miko asked quietly trying to ease her back into better spirits, "Don't forget, I'm you. We feel the same things." Her clone looked at her out of the corner of her eye before sliding her pupil to stare out of her window.

"...we're friends..." she insisted. Giving a doubtful smile Miko shook her head. If she was going to understand she'd have to find out on her own. But she still needed cheering up.

"...wanna pull some pranks in town?" she asked the alien. Suddenly the clone's face hopped back to its trademark mischievous self.

"About time you asked."

* * *

"Are you sure this is absolutely necessary Knockout?" Megatron grumbled. The medic felt like doing so himself. He always knew going in that it would never be a quiet procedure with the Emperor of Destruction unless it was an upgrade of some sort that he'd be cackling about to his minions. But it had to be done if there was ever to be a hope of keeping their master in the realm of the sane...and probably living.

"For the fourth time your ever greatness, yes," the red Decepticon told him sliding his utensil tray into view, "We need to keep the Energon antibodies refilled in order to keep the infection at bay. So just sit tight sir, it won't take too...uh..." Knockout waved his hand around searching a bit more on his tray. Nervously he gulped and blinked a few times. There was hardly any Energon left on it!

"Is something wrong?" Megatron asked trying to get a view of what Knockout was looking at.

"Uh n-nothing sir!" Knockout laughed doubtfully, "J-just hang tight! Need to get something!" Hesitantly the medic bolted off to his supply cabinet and flung it open. "Curse the low rations on this ship! Why if I was at the old hospital complex on Archa Seven then I'd have all the Energon I need." But as things stood currently it seemed that there was only enough Energon to line the sides of the cabinet for emergency. Knockout was about to rush to the Reserve Chambers of the ship when he noticed a button flickering at his terminal. For some reason or another he decided to check it before tending to the situation at hand. He was more shocked than anything once he saw the screen that came up. Propped against a tree was Starscream. Knowing better than to have the Seeker announce himself for Megatron to hear Knockout patched the audio of the terminal into his audio receptor.

"What do you want?" Knockout sighed, "I'm sorta in the middle of something..."

"Oh I just wanted to see if you could help a former leader," Starscream moaned pathetically, "I'm sure you know about how Megatron shot at me and my...new partner the other day...well one of the blasts hit and-"

"Well it's been nice talking to you, but I have THAT very leader to take care of right now so if-"

"No wait!" Starscream begged, "Look, I know you must be using up a ton of Energon to keep that infection or whatever down." Knockout's finger stopped just inches from terminating the transmission.

"...go on..."

"Well I...uh...have recently come into possession of quite the...unique variant of Energon...Red Energon to be precise...if you give me medical attention I might be inclined to trade..." Starscream offered. Knockout's eyes trailed to his finger then back up to the screen. Deals with the Seeker weren't usually exactly what he promised...but what choice did he have?

"...alright fine...I'll get to your co-ordinates soon." Starscream grinned as the transmission ended. Happy at another successful bargain he slouched back against the tree. Knockout always was one of the most reasonable members of the Decepticons, if not the most. Soundwave certainly had an efficiency, but that dedication to Megatron impeded quite a sizable amount on any agenda that anyone else might have clashing against his. It hadn't taken too long to deduct that the element that Knockout must have been using to counter Dark Energon was Energon. It was pretty much the only thing that could be used to counter the blood of Unicron but with how vile that dark one's essence was it wouldn't take too long for it to eat through the countermeasures.

Starscream had to admit, he was impressed with how quickly he'd connected the pieces of the puzzle together. After that it was a simple matter of making the bargain. That's how he found himself waiting for the squad of cars and jets racing towards him in the distance. At the lead was perhaps the shiniest car he'd ever laid eyes upon. The red sleek form of Knockout's vehicle mode cut right through the path leading to the edge of the forest that Starscream was waiting at. The Seeker's grin hadn't left his face since the transmission had ended. Within seconds the Decepticon medic had screeched to a halt and flipped into robot-mode with the Vehicons he'd brought in front of Starscream.

"Alright Screamy, lemme see the Energon first and...why aren't you clutching your side anymore?...this...is a trap isn't it?..." Knockout slowly said. He cringed as Starscream's grin grew. He didn't dare turn around until the screams and gunfire had died down. Knowing that there was no way out of the situation Knockout gulped and trembled as he creaked his body to view the scene that Starscream had been watching. Lying in front of him was the now decimated squad that he'd brought with them. The final member dropped to the ground from Sideway's oil-ridden clutches with a clang.

"Let's talk," he said. Knockout bit his lower lip.

* * *

Jack's teeth clenched as he felt the lamppost breeze past his arm. His muscles remained tight until the ride slowed due to a traffic light. Normally he'd be leisurely riding his transforming vehicle through town, but this day seemed to be more of a test of survival than anything. Something was definitely up with Arcee, and if he didn't find out what it was soon he could likely wind up in a rather...uncomfortable physical state. Of course every time he'd asked so far he'd been met with an oblivious partner who claimed he was just worrying too much. Something about having two Mikos around...which would be understandable, but it was not the case.

So far the drunkily driving motorcycle had popped through the rim of an open manhole cover, nearly scratched its side up on a chain fence, run a redlight just barely missing getting hit by about three of the cars driving through, and almost tipped over the edge of a lifted portion of the street that it'd decided to drive on. It was like Arcee was trying to scare her passengers to death. And yet in light of it all she acted like it was a normal everyday ride joining in on conversations and commenting even when she was about to turn into a lethal curve. Having survived the latest stunt, the two Jacks shook off the worry as best they could to regain control of the previous conversation.

"So you remember mom..." Jack repeated, his voice still a bit wavering from the shock of their latest brush with death. His clone nodded. "And you remember Sierra."

"Who could forget her?" the Cybertronian smiled. Guiltily Jack gave a similar grin. "Yeah, I can remember some things. Other things are just a blank. It's like there are bits of my mind missing...considering who made me though that's probably not all that surprising. That Tarantulas guy's a maniac. Either way, I am you so I act the same and all that. Someone's gotta be there to make sure that Miko doesn't get her head lobbed off." The Jacks chuckled at the claim. Even Arcee mused the thought over in her mind. "...but that sorta brings me to something else...even with Sierra around...you and Miko are..." Jack's face flushed slightly. In the back of his mind he knew that the kind of conversation was a point of interest for the newcomer, but that didn't make it any more unnerving to have to discuss it with himself.

"Yeah...we are..." Jack replied, his voice lowering a bit. It was a surprise to him that he was still so unsure. It felt like he was saying it to try and convince himself that what he was saying was true. That it was more than just Miko's usual self-pleasuring antics. He knew they cared about each other...but his mind split at the thoughts that the pairing brought. "We are...together...like you said...we gotta be there to keep Miko in line ya know?...she needs me..." The clone glanced away from the boy in front. That was a part of him he really wish he could get rid of sometimes. His niceness. Though he was the most reasonable of the group he was also the one that could probably get taken advantage of the easiest.

"Yeah, I know that. But that doesn't mean you have to BE WITH HER be with her. She just needs you to stop her from doing stupid stuff...not that it's bad if you really want that relationship! Just uh...are you sure that's what you want?..." The clone asked. He knew that he had a better chance with Miko than with most girls due to their relationship, but he just couldn't help but think that nothing good would come of the bond in the end. He would never stop caring about the girl himself, but...he just couldn't see it. The human's hanging head was sign enough that something had ignited in his head from the conversation. Before he could reply though the motorcycle interrupted the talking with another jerk of the wheels. Suddenly the Jacks found themselves speeding through a construction site.

"...Arcee...we were showing me, er, the other me the way to school..." Jack reminded trying to turn the vehicle. Its steering remained locked in its straight path.

"Yeah, this is just a shortcut," Arcee told him. Glaring now Jack pulled as hard as he could against the handles. They vibrated from the stress but remained on course.

"No..it is...not!" Jack yelled gritting his teeth. Arcee knew that she could keep control of her movements if she tried, but with her focus on both Jack and her path caused her faith to waver. Hesitantly she swerved around taking care not to perform a stunt that would seriously injure the passengers. With a light tug at the climax of the turn Jack's clone's grip loosened from around the boy's waist flopping him onto the ground next to the motorcycle. With Jack now worrying about his other self he wouldn't be trying to navigate leaving the vehicle to speed towards its destination.

The clone shook his head a few times to clear the dizziness that accompanied the fall. His eyes widened once he realized where the remaining Jack was headed. Right in front of them the vehicle was driving towards a ramp to fly off into the actual framework that was in construction for the building that was being worked on there. The clone hardly had time to warn the boy before the motorcycle's tires left the ground and met on one of the beams making up the complex's skeleton. Jack could feel his heart racing once he himself realized what was going on. There he was tens of feet above the ground speeding along a makeshift balance beam. Had it been any other day he wouldn't have worried considering Arcee's nature, but with how she'd been acting he was scared to death.

Regardless, Jack still found the will to duck and turn his body and head when obstacles came. When a bundle of pipes rushed from the side he bent to the other. When a beam jutted downwards his body fell to accommodate. The dodging was almost routine with how often he went on missions. But that didn't make it any less fearful. Arcee was speeding through the hazards of the construction site...and accelerating! Jack glanced to his right just in time to see a shard of glass rush at him. It just barely scraped his cheek, a trail of blood following in its wake. He had even less time to spot the planks from the other side. Jack clamped his eyes shut and braced for impact. The next thing he felt was weightlessness and heard tires screeching.

After a few seconds of silence the boy cracked open his eyes and almost shut them again. He was suspended above the ground! After a few ragged breaths he looked up to see his own face. His clone was holding him by his arm that'd been transformed into its warped techno-organic state. Slowly he lowered himself and his original to the ground where Arcee joined them soon after transforming into her robot-mode.

"Oh good you're alright," she sighed as she came to a stop in front of the boys. Jack's glare returned as he peered up at his partner.

"Yeah, my clone grabbed me. Now what was that all about?" he muttered.

"What?" Arcee asked innocently, "I was just taking you on a shortcut to-"

"Cut the scrap Arcee, you were trying to kill me!" Jack yelled. Arcee took a step back in surprise.

"I was not! I was uh-I uh...I was making sure you...were still ready for this kind of life..." she confessed, her voice dropping as the words trailed out slower and slower. Jack's angry expression lifted a bit in confusion. "The other day...when you workplace got attacked...afterwards you weren't even concerned about what had happened! The kind of stuff we do is getting too normal for you! That's gonna make you careless and I am not losing another partner! THAT is what I've been doing here! Trying to make sure you're as alert as you used to be!" If Autobots could cry tears would've more than likely started pricking at the rims of Arcee's eyes during the explanation. Jack however just blinked a few times due to disbelief.

"...THAT was the reason you did all this?" Jack smacked his forehead, "I wasn't unconcerned! I was just more shocked about finding out that Miko is Circuit Break-uh! I uh mean I-" Now Arcee was the one with the stunned expression.

"...Miko is...she's that girl on TV?..." Arcee repeated the information. Jack cringed. He had blown it. "...well that'd explain why she's so full of herself whenever she's on the news..."

"You CAN'T tell anyone!" Jack pleaded.

"And why not?" Arcee asked sternly, "You honestly think she'll be safe with what she pulls?" The boy's clone didn't know what all was being talked about, but if it involved Miko he was leaning more towards the Cybertronian's side of the argument. Jack meanwhile was shaking his head.

"No but I don't know what revealing that I know her secret might do to her emotionally...look Bulkhead looks out for Miko and I'll look out for Circuit Breaker...it's alright... please?..." Jack asked clasping his hands together. Arcee pinched the space between her eyes in contemplation.

"...I'll think about it..." she mumbled. Jack breathed a sigh of relief as his partner morphed back into vehicle-mode. She did owe him for nearly taking his head off. "For now...don't we have a school to take the other you by?"

* * *

"Look, I already told you I'm not gonna join!" Knockout yelled, "YOU know what Megatron's like when you tick him off!"

"I'm still alive," Starscream reminded happily. The declaration only earned an irritated glare from the medic. "...well, okay, not in the BEST shape of my life, but hey, considering what I've been through I'm doing stellar. And with my new alliance I highly doubt Megatron will be of much concern much longer."

"And if he survives then what?" Knockout muttered. Starscream glanced at Sideways for support.

"...Team Starscream?" the Seeker suggested with a doubtful smile and two thumbs up. Knockout just shook his head. It was all he could really do with how he was currently sealed up inside the holding chamber of the makeshift base.

"You really are a class act you know that?" he sighed, "try to off our leader, high tail it after he figures things out, try to make deals with any affiliation willing, and you still got that smug look on your face like you're the one in control." Starscream's pitiful smile slithered into a frown more and more as each example his prisoner listed piled up. Having had enough of the babbling, Starscream reached out and scraped his sharp fingers ear-piercingly along the glass of the containment chamber shutting Knockout's mouth.

"You realize if I wanted to you'd be dead right now right?" Starscream hissed.

"Not likely," Knockout smiled. Starscream's clenched teeth began to show.

"My point is...you and I share something in common," he growled, "we BOTH tried to off our dear leader. I just thought you might be interested..."

"Woah now, I was being bribed," Knockout tried to defend, "A chance to be second in command? That kinda opportunity doesn't show up every day ya know."

"The offer will still be open," Starscream's grin returned from the more relaxed state of the argument, "should Megatron suffer that long overdue...medical nap. All we need is your consent to join us. Then it's only a matter of time before old bucket head, well, kicks the bucket. Hehe..." Knockout had come into the base knowing that no good could possibly come from the ordeal that he so idiotically allowed himself to be caught up in, but at this point he really was up for grabs as to what to do. On one hand he could have a very annoyed Megatron after him...on the other...well he wasn't too worried about Starscream...but his partner was nothing that he wanted anything to do with. The dude was scary to say the least.

"...and if I refuse?..." Knockout asked warily.

"Well...let's just say that Megatron being the angry one would be the least of your worries," Sideways told him lifting one of his arm cannons into view. Knockout gulped. It was now or never. He had to make his move. He didn't know if he'd survive, but he knew he had to get out of there. In one swift motion he flipped his hand into his drilling utensil and slammed it as hard as he could against where the lock of the door would be. Starscream's alarmed voice and the loud beep that occurred afterwards were sign enough that he'd hit his target. By the time the door slid back he was in vehicle-mode and speeding out into the main part of the base. That's when he felt the first sizzling beam pass by just scraping over his roof. The next one almost vaporized his front tire. Whatever that Sideways guy was, he was a damn good shot.

"KNOCKOUT!" Starscream yelled taking aim himself. Knowing he'd only have one chance, the car wheeled around and sped straight for the two Transformers. The Seeker's startled missile careened lazily over the Decepticon but Sideways was already tilting his barrels. With one last blast the car was launched painfully into the air and over their heads. Knockout tumbled into robot-mode as he hit his target, the table behind them. "NO!" Starscream wailed clutching his head. Shaking his own, Knockout smirked and grabbed the Red Energon that was on it.

"Thanks for the donation!" he quipped before morphing back into vehicle-mode. Furiously Starscream launched two more missiles at the automobile. In the vapor of smoke that remained they could see the car ride out into the world beyond. Starscream stared for a few seconds until letting out a scream and slamming his fist down on the table that the Red Energon had been on.

"Relax," Sideways chuckled. Starscream eyed the purple Transformer in disbelief. "If I'd been trying actually he'd be dead. There's a reason I let him take the Energon."

* * *

"Alright, now that is what I call pranking!" The clone cheered high-fiving her lookalike, "do you remember how the entire crowd-"

"Oh and don't forget what Vince was yelling-"

"And-"

"You two aren't getting in too much trouble are you?" a male voice asked. The Mikos looked down at Bulkhead's radio, their grins widening. It took only a second for the cars window to slide down. Eagerly Miko popped her head out and beamed down at the Jacks on the motorcycle next to Bulkhead.

"We were just discussing the foursome that we were going to-OW! Okay okay!" Miko cried from the kicks she was receiving, "What I meant to say was that my clone here thinks that she and your clone GAH!"

"We've not gotten into any trouble that you Jacks can't sort out," the copy of the girl told them sternly coming to the window herself after switching places with her human counterpart.

"Goodie," the boys sighed together. Noticing that the human boy's eyes were on the road in front of him she gave his clone a half hearted smile. Hesitantly he returned the expression. Unseen to any of the group a police officer stumbled out of the bushes behind them. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the girl that was sticking her head out the window.

"Hello...yeah...I got a visual of the kid that dumped all that oil on us," he said into his walkie talky as the vehicles drove off.

-end of chapter-

Oiyaiyama...this chapter took FOREVER. I mean it's bad enough that I haven't been paying much attention to this, but with the latest season ending...well let's just say what all happened has sorta screwed things up in my story fitting into canon in any way...So ya know what? This is strictly a "WHAT IF" story from now on...as if I could ever have passed it off as anything else...but don't worry, unless the status of the story says "Complete", I'm not done with the story...for whoever actually still reads this crap.

Anyhow! Knockout's taking some suspicious Red Energon back to Megatron and the clones are messing with Jack and Miko's heads. More people also know who Circuit Breaker actually is now. And what about that cop at the end? Well find out the answers...well maybe all of them next time!

As for the art, I figured I'd just display the art I made of the actual final episode of the season if that's alright: w-w-w-dot-warahi-dot-deviantart-dot-com-slash-art-slash-Until-We-Meet-Again-335856595


	25. Hard Time

Chapter : Hard Time

Lazily Jack rubbed his eyes. The sun was just now beginning to set, its half-hidden image like that of a drooping eyelid which's life dwindled and shrank from the land that it'd watched over that day. The boy watched as the shadows of the trees and houses outside of his elongated the further away the sun got, their element starting to overtake the land. Starting to make it their own for the evening atmosphere. A yawn soon escaped his lips. It was that kind of scene that he wished he could share with Miko, assuming the girl would ever calm down long enough to actually appreciate the harmonic visage.

But they did need their breaks here and there as any normal human did...which in this case did apply to Miko. Despite her shortcomings and overbearings the girl surprisingly still needed a breather from time to time. But that wasn't all of it. For a while now they'd not been as intimate as they used to be. For Jack he just saw it as a more normal relationship for a while...but things had been getting a bit...slow here and there, especially considering Miko was his mate. It was as if they'd begun to drift back towards normality. It was like whenever they'd used to have fights but had folded back to their default interactions a few days afterwards, only now it was from the other side of the spectrum. And that worried Jack.

For as annoying as Miko was, he did love her. At worst they'd just go back to how things were before the relationship if they broke up. It'd definitely be a lot more relaxing to not have the hyperactive girl constantly at his side. Still...he enjoyed it. Her company. Her jests being more playful and thoughtful, their spats more like juveniles batting eyelashes at each other when their peers weren't watching. That was what he was concerned about losing. Their bond they now had. But then there were times when he just couldn't stand the girl. It truly was a love-hate relationship.

The main trouble he could never get off of his mind though was Circuit Breaker. Once he'd found out that it was just Miko in disguise he'd been kicking himself. It was so obvious! There was no reason he had to actually see her to figure it out! The revelation did nothing to calm him however. Yes Miko was having fun, as she always did, and yes she was helping out more...but as a super hero. Someone that even regular thugs would have no hesitation over kicking the crap out of. The kind of danger that Miko was constantly putting herself in with that persona made Jack's stomach flop about. He couldn't bear the thought of having his mom tell him that Miko had ended up in the hospital someday. He needed to make sure that she was safe, as he always did. Not just because he was older than her or because he was her...partner. He needed to protect for his own sake, for his conscience, to make sure that she didn't do anything stupid like she normally did. Not with THAT kind of lifestyle.

Pinching the space between his eyes Jack sighed. He really did think too much thinking sometimes. With his position unfortunately that seemed mandatory. If he didn't Raf and Miko certainly wouldn't...well Raf might but not with Jack's initiative and determination. The sun was now only a mere sliver on the horizon. Figuring it best to sleep on the conflictions rattling his mind, the boy turned around to go to his room when the doorbell rang.

"I wonder who that is," his mom yawned from the living room, "Jack, could you-"

"I got it mom," he told her. A loose smile hung on his lips. It wasn't hard to fathom who would be disturbing the family that late at night. Miko did have a tendency to pop up when least convenient. Upon opening the door however he was met with a bit of discomfort. Standing in front of his was a police officer. His heart leaped into his throat. What had Miko done? How bad had she gotten hurt? Should he tell Bulkhead what kind of guitar she was leaving him? That was only some of the questions that flooded into his head in the brief second it took for the officer to glance down at him and speak.

"Jackson Darby," he said, "You are under arrest." Yeah...tonight it looked like it wasn't going to be the loving part of the relationship.

* * *

"Don't worry oh mighty one, we now have enough Energon to rectify most of the Dark Energon infection," Knockout declared. His grin reached from cheek to cheek as the vial of Red Energon clinked around in his hand. It'd been quite some time since he went through such trouble on his own to get something, but with the right amount of skill and luck anything was possible.

"I don't worry," Megatron replied sternly. Any dismissiveness in the gray leader's voice went unnoticed by the happy medic. He would just be happy to finally be free of the contagious chains. To be able to lead his army in efficient condition again...he didn't know what he'd be willing to give for that. He needed to be there to see things through. To make sure they reached their goals. If he wasn't around all that they'd have worked towards would be put in jeopardy, especially considering what had happened when he was away last. "May we start already?" he muttered. He couldn't wait to be rid of the corruption.

"Uh-of course!" Knockout chuckled nervously. Delicately he pulled out his equipment tray carefully selecting each utensil. His hands worked like a expert craftsman's interlocking and pulling apart pieces to form new instruments. After only a few seconds he had what he needed. A light clunking sound was made as the vial of Red Energon was locked into place in the feeding end of the tube-like structure. "Now this may sting a bit..." Knockout warned only to receive a glower from his leader, "...right...the ever-powerful Megatron doesn't feel pain does he? Pardon my moment of unintelligence."

"Very well," the taller Decepticon uttered clearly irritated by the monologuing. Deciding it best not to go any further with the conversation, Knockout brought the device down towards the titan and hooked it into his Spark Chamber. Slowly Megatron's eyes dimmed.

"Good..." Knockout murmured to himself as he checked the readings on his monitor, "powerdown proceeding as normal...now Energon flow...mhm...mhmmm...good good...wait what?" The medics eyes darted towards the tube that was filtering the Red Energon into the Decepticon leader. Everything seemed alright, but the screen had suddenly started acting odd. Hesitantly he glanced at the screen again. He almost jumped back in fright. The Dark Energon infection was spreading out of control! "What the scrap!?" he cried. As quickly as possible he began typing commands into the console, each one turning out useless. "I checked the thing for Dark Energon contamination!" he yelled slamming his fist down on the keyboard, "There wasn't any there at...wait...what if...oh no..."

In fear he gazed over at the large Cybertronian. Though dimmed his optics were clearly shifting from their usual red coloring to a more purple hue. Viciously Knockout typed a few final lines into the computer console. With a hiss the heated equipment shutdown and popped off of the gray metal, but Megatron did now power back up. Knockout wiped his brow in relief.

"That Stasis Lock should hold you until we get you into a Cryogenic Sleeping Chamber," he figured, "...Primus...how are we going to get out of this..." Knowing it'd be useless to hide the news from the most dedicated of the Emperor of Destruction's followers, Knockout turned to his console once more and turned on the intercom. "Soundwave...calling Soundwave...your aide is requested in the medical bay, stat."

* * *

Jack's eyelids lowered as he heard the barred doors close behind him. The musty and stale odor of the plain cell snaked through his nostrils. The sights of the location only gave way to an even drearier demeanor than his thoughts had. The room was blank aside from the bed and bars that lined it. With how shadowy it was outside the lighting was on in the hallway, but dimmed the closer it got to his new dwelling painting the cubicle with shades of gray. There was a fraction of lighter atmosphere visually though, however small it was. On the bed sat a familiar teenage Asian girl, her arms folded.

"Enjoy your stay," the officer told him before walking out of sight. Jack's brows furrowed as he took a few steps towards the bed. From what he'd seen most of the other cells had had bunk beds or two separate ones, but this had a single, likely due to Miko's meddling. The girl meanwhile sat there smiling up at him sheepishly.

"So...I get dragged down here because apparently I'm a partner of yours in some crime we committed," Jack informed placing his hands on his hips, "Care to explain?" Miko's nervous smile widened at each passing word.

"Uh...hehe...well I MIGHT have pulled a prank on a police officer with my clone the other day...and he MIGHT have seen you with me that day...so he MIGHT have assumed-"

"You pulled a prank on officer that pissed him off and landed us both in here," Jack summarized. Miko's cheeks pinkened.

"...maayybeee..." she said through her clenched teeth. Jack just rolled his eyes and sighed sitting down next to her. Trying to make him feel better, Miko scooted closer to him and rubbed her cheek against his. It wasn't a surprise that Jack all but acknowledged the affection considering the situation.

"Well you're obviously not Mecha-Miko," he murmured.

"Mecha Miko?" she smiled, "I'll have to remember that one. So far I got Cyber-Babe, Metal Nakadai, Electro-Boobies-"

"And me locked up in jail," he reminded shrinking the girl back shamefully. Miko traced the rim of his eye with her's for a good while not wanting to look directly into it. His lids were laced with annoyance and disrupt, more so than he usually had with her.

"...well, how do you know it isn't Android Number Nakadai?" she eventually wondered aloud to break the tension, "I mean I could be her lightening up to a relationship with ya..." Jack gave a small snort through his nose.

"Easy, you'd have tried to break outta here by now," he chuckled, "...course you would probably try that normally too, but with less success." Miko folded her arms back over her chest and frowned at the claim. Sure she wasn't really mad, but she needed to react negatively somehow. It was expected. And seeing Jack's face it looked like it'd worked, at least partly. Sure he was still annoyed with her (when was he not?), but his face now held a lot more playfulness then when he'd entered.

"Alright then Houndini, you got any ideas?" she grumbled. Jack glanced around the cell a few times before yawning and slouching back onto the mattress.

"Yeah, I'm getting some shuteye," he replied sleepily. Dumbfounded, Miko's eyes jumped as she spun around to face the resting male. She may have deserved it, but Miko sure didn't like the letdown he was giving her in return.

"So you're just fine with rotting in here?" she asked sternly laying down next to him. Cracking open an eye, Jack yawned again.

"Nope," he told her, "I just know that since I got nothin' to do with this I'm probably gonna be let out tomorrow once things get sorted out." Inside Miko's mouth her teeth started to grind a bit.

"So you're just fine with letting me stay here?" she grumbled. Her brows lifted as he snickered.

"You? Sure. You could probably use some shaping up," he smiled, "not like you're gonna die." Miko puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

"Some boyfriend you are," she muttered. Jack's snickering had now returned to it's low chuckling.

"So then we have decided that we are for a fact boyfriend and girlfriend and that you'll be loyal to only me no matter what happens forever and ever?" he mused. Miko's scrunched up face reddened from the words.

"...shut up," she spat turning around so that she didn't have to look at him.

"Love you too honey," Jack told her. Somehow her cheeks darkened even more as he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a slumbering embrace.

* * *

The low sound making up the background of the world was barely noticeable at first. But as time went on it got louder and more prominent. By the time he'd gotten on Arcee to ride around town it was blaring, filling his head with dizziness and confusion. All that the noise allowed him to remember was that he was on a mission. Miko was driving around with Bulkhead and the clones were underground. Whether they planned to meet up or anything Jack had no idea. It was hell to try and focus through the noise. That distant banging and cutting sound. It blocked out all else.

In spite of the mind-numbing clattering though there were things that Jack could still make out. Arcee seemed worried as did the voices that would occasionally blurt through her radio. Something bad was definitely going on. Jack tried to listen to the voices better to ignore the noise but to no avail. Something else was beginning to tear his mind away from it though. Beneath them the street had begun to glow an infectious shade of purple. The houses lining the sidewalks started to as well, the velvet hue slithering across their frames little-by-little. Looking down Jack was startled to find that even he and Arcee had started glowing, heat being brought with the color. A burning, dying heat. Agonizingly Jack clenched his eyes shut as the purple scenery became blinding and a final clanging noise sounded.

"YAH!" he cried. Jack thought he had opened his eyes but all that he could see was blackness. Shifting them in their sockets he could clearly tell that his lids were indeed open. It took Jack a few seconds to get his brain back in order. When he finally did snap to his senses he pulled his head up and shook it around. He'd been planted firmly in the bed's sheets that were now on the hard floor with him. Seeing the moon still in the sky beyond the barred windows he glanced back up onto the bed. Where Miko should've been was merely an imprint of a body. Just then he heard a loud clanging noise. The sound that'd been invading his dreams. Immediately he jerked around to see the final cut off bar of the cell door drop to the ground inciting a little victory dance from the girl that was next to them.

"Miko one, Bars none!" she exclaimed. Jack felt like slapping his forehead. She was using her powers to break out of jail?! The real dilenma however was the fact that he still hadn't quite decided if he should tell her that he knew about her abilities or not.

"And here I thought that I'd be hugging you til morning," he grumbled causing the girl to jump. She obviously had not realized that he was awake. Nervously she whirled around and smiled down at him. "Miko...what the hell're ya doing? You honestly wanna get in even more trouble?" The girl just rolled her eyes.

"If I don't get out some punk in here is gonna get me!" she claimed. Jack's brows halved. "I'm a girl and there are bad guys in here!"

"...right...and why would they target you and not any other less annoying girls?" Jack questioned. Letting out a scoff Miko put her hands on her hips.

"Well if you must know I sorta...distracted one of the guys and got them locked up here after Circuit Breaker had taken down their gang the other week...so he wants to get me..." Miko told him.

"...and how would this supposed criminal get out of his cell...and how did you?" Jack persisted the interrogation. Miko's eyes narrowed as they looked at the bars she'd disposed of. Quickly she put her hands behind her back and a snapping sound was heard before they reappeared with a saw-like object in them.

"He was using this and I found it once he'd gotten out...he was gonna try and find a way out first before coming back to get me," Miko told Jack uneasily. This time he really did put a hand to his forehead. Not letting her know that he knew her secret just made conversations so awkward sometimes. The saw was obviously too advanced for a common person to have access to, yet she had to try and convince him to keep up her facade.

"Alright fine Ms. Axe Crazy, I'm coming too, if only to keep you out trouble," Jack sighed.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," she told him with a wink. After dusting himself off from the crash landing he'd had, Jack walked over to the broken cell door and joined Miko in peering out. The hallway was as dull as he'd remembered it, just slightly more lively than their dwelling had been, only now ceiling lights illuminated the pathway leading down the jailcell-lined corridor due to the darkness that the night brought. As expected Miko was the first to dart out. Thankfully the other cells were either vacant or had their inhabitants asleep within them.

"I am so gonna get in trouble for this..." Jack murmured to himself. Receiving a wave from Miko he gulped and cautiously made his way over to where she was.

"Loosen up a bit Jackie," she giggled, "Just think of it as avoiding Decepticons."

"Yeah, like that'll make things better," he cringed. Miko clenched her teeth to lessen her laughter to a snickering. Jack did ease a bit though. For the next minute they inched along the walls, Jack being sure to remind Miko to check if people were sleeping or not at each cell they came to before continuing. When they'd made it halfway down the hall however Miko's eyes widened. She saw a human figure at the end of it approaching. Her teeth clenched so much that they hurt as she desperately looked around for any way to hide themselves. After a few seconds her eyes came to rest on a ventilation shaft morphing her mouth into a grin. Jack was surprised to say the least when the girl hopped up and pulled the lid clean off the vent.

"Hold this," she said handing the lid to him. His mind was simply on autopilot by this point and did as asked allowing the girl to hop up into the shaft. Jack let out a small yelp as she reached back down and yanked him in afterwards pulling him so fast that the lid of the vent slammed back into place leaving no trace that they'd ever been in the hall at all.

* * *

Rapidly Knockout's fingers danced across the keyboard. They were moving so fast all that could be seen were blurs of gray and red where his lower arms should have been. All the while the silent one stood over his shoulder, forever watching, forever observing. Too much had gone wrong in such an amount of time. Not since Starscream's meddling or Unicron's interruption in the war had things seemed so dire. He had never seen the intake of the dark one's blood as a good thing, but he would not lift a finger to his master lest he order it himself.

Megatron had reasons for his actions and Soundwave knew that in the end, no matter the turmoil, there was always a goal to be reached through the chaos that ensued. For that kind of finish to be reached there had to be unbreakable unity. That's what he offered. He might have been able to kill Megatron in a fight if he tried, but he was loyal. That gladiator that he'd met so long ago had been one of a kind, and one that knew what he was doing. It was that kind of drive that Soundwave stood behind and broke his back to keep running. But now more than ever the natural order was in danger. Even with Knockout doing his best times looked grim. Soundwave did not act often, but when he did he made an impact. He had to with the kinds of duties he was placed with. It was him that got things done when all else failed.

"I still can't believe it. I checked the scrappin' thing over at least ten times before I gave it to him!" Knockout somehow managed to complain through his endless typing, "It had no Dark Energon...but it must've been tampered with. Triggered something that reactivated the growth of the infection, multiplied it!" As his talking ceased so did the tango of his fingers. Knockout's face contorted into a scowl at the message that the monitor gave him. He'd manually locked down all the valves and circulation in the cryogenically sleeping Decepticon leader and still the infection was nearing completion!

"SCRAP!" Knockout yelled slamming his fist on the keyboard, "If I'd just had some more time back at Starscream's little hideout I could've probably found something more about this stuff...probably entire states away from it by now. And who knows what forest it was..."

"I'll find it."

"Ha! Right, good luck with that buddy. Meanwhile I'm gonna do something that's actual-" Knockout's voice trailed off as realization dawned on him causing his jaw to drop uselessly. After a few blinks the fact finally registered in his head. By the time he looked around however, his audience was nowhere to be seen.

"Primus...so that's what he sounds like..."

* * *

Jack's face was red. Ever since they had started crawling it'd been the color of a tomato. He was surprised that their hue alone didn't light up the reflective metal of their surroundings. With each inch they advanced he winced. It wasn't due to pain or stings of any sort. It was just the natural reaction to what filled his vision. Each wobble lifting his cheeks towards the bottom of his eyes as he fought back the urges and nature churning within him from the spark that the sight ignited. Every second was a constant battle. The hips in front of him meanwhile continued to swing oblivious to his yearnings and resistance. Jack was the mature one. He couldn't allow himself to succumb to petty little temptation.

"Jack?" Miko repeated. Getting no response again the girl stopped crawling to turn around and see if he was okay, but she never got the chance to. The instant her limbs stopped moving her cheeks joined the shade of Jack's. Any worry or question she might have had vanished from the pressure that planted against her bottom. Her tenseness was nothing compared to Jack's however. Nervously he slowly lifted his head off of her underside, his whole body face was so bright now that it looked like magma must've been beneath his skin. The uneasy spell of silence felt like it lasted for hours in the moments that passed.

"Save it for the bedroom Jack-Jack," Miko finally snickered to break the heavy atmosphere, "Or at least until we get to a less echoey place." Relieved to just have the embarrassing scene done with, the boy wiped his sweat-laced brow. Of course Miko had to have been the one to force them into such a situation. Things could never be simple and peaceful with her. They always had to be showoffy and dramatic to any audience that might be there, even if they were make believe. If Jack had a dollar for every time she'd embarrassed or shamed him through her ego he would've been one rich bastard.

"Hm...maybe that's not a bad idea..." Jack rubbed his chin at the though of the money he might make off of such a deal.

"What's not?" Miko asked. Jack clenched his teeth and smiled innocently at her. She'd managed to squirm around so that she was now facing him. "You got an idea now? Cause I really don't know my way around here," she sighed.

"Well why don't you just turn into-uh-um!-we could pop open the next vent we come to and peak out..." Jack covered up what he'd almost let slip. The juttered statement just earned a perplexed stare from Miko until she went over the second part of the sentence in her head. A smile lightened up her face removing a hefty weight from the boy's shoulders.

"And that's why I have you around. You're the sensible one," she laughed pinching Jack's cheek sending a scowl at her, "I woulda probably been crawling around in here for a good few hours unless I cheated before I figured to do that." Once Miko started turning back around to continue the crawl Jack rolled his eyes. He knew exactly what "cheating" would consist of in this kind of situation. "Oh but first," she exclaimed drawing Jack's attention back to her rear, "BUTT!"

The calmer atmosphere that he'd been enjoying dissipated as the girl wiggled her ass in his face again now complete with giggles. Jack's eye twitched afterwhich Miko let out an alarmed "EEP!" from the smack that echoed through the ventilation system. Her cheeks flooded more with crimson once his head appeared out of the corner of her eye while his arms wrapped around her torso from behind. She could feel quite a bit of pressure against her lower pelvis. "Mmm..." a pleased moan passed through her lips, "you're being a bit assertive tonight aren't ya?..."

"Only with you," he whispered into her ear, "Cause you won't stay on task. Now think you can get a move on before they think to check up here?" Unbeknownst to Jack, Miko's eyes had been rollings towards the top of her head to accompany her lustful grin. She was nearly a mile away from understanding Jack with how her body was feeling. Nearly. If she saw a way to make things feel even better she'd take it.

"Maybe I will...if I can get a bit of...persuasion..." she drooled. Jack's eyes widened from the feeling of her hips digging deeper into his pelvis. Her blissful giggling had deepened to a more throaty seductive tone the longer she'd rubbed against him. "Maybe if you move your hands up a bit. Tummy's not the number one place for you to grab you know..." She cooed. Had she been paying attention to Jack she'd probably have gotten even more excited from the grin he responded with.

"Alright alright," he chuckled. Miko's eager tooth-filled smile hung for a few seconds before fading more to a confused face once Jack had pulled away from her. "You want some incentive? No "happy fun time" until we get things done here," he proposed.

"WHAT!?" Miko screeched. If she could've she'd have spun around and pounced on him, but as things stood all she'd really accomplished was scrunching her body up a bit in the confined space she'd tried to turn in. Jack put a hand over his mouth to keep the laughter to a minimum. Unable to do much else she struggled a few more times before shooting a deathly glare in his direction.

"You fuckin' tease," she spat.

"Like you aren't?" Jack rolled his eyes. Miko's cheeks blinked from the next slap he gave her rear. Heavily unamused Miko wriggled around to get her body pointing back in the direction they'd been going. She was supposed to be the one that got away with that crap, not him!

"Next time we're stuck in a vent your ass is so the one that's getting stared at," Miko scoffed. Jack smiled pleasantly as the bouncing of her hips started up again with him following close behind. Maybe it wasn't that bad acting like Miko sometimes.

"As long as I get this view right now," he smiled to himself under his breath.

* * *

A dulling clang snapped through the vacant room, the ventilation cover puffing up a nearly invisible pillow of dust around the site of its impact on the floor. All was silent for a spell following the object's drop until a head popped out of the opening in the ceiling a few seconds later and started looking around. All that the girl's eyes could see was a cramped little room with shelves lining the walls. None of the lights were on. Couldn't be any more unpleasant than what they'd been crawling through though. After a final spin of her head, Miko pulled herself out and fell face-first into the room below. Jack followed much more gracefully landing on his feet. He smacked his forehead once he saw the state that Miko was in.

"Well...that was fun..." Miko drolled shaking her head around, "At least we're out of that vent though. I think my body fell asleep..."

"I didn't mind too much," Jack commented with a stretch. Miko peered at him upon getting back to her feet.

"Yeah, cause you had this to look at," she grumbled squeezing her butt. Jack shot her a happy smile and nodded. "...now that we're in a more comfortable place though...how's about "happy fun time" now?..." Miko wondered hopefully, "Real quick one?..." She breathed an irritated sigh through her nose seeing Jack shake his head.

"We get out of here first," he insisted. Muttering something to herself, Miko folded her arms over her chest and walked over to the door of the storage room.

"Well alright Mr. Serious Business, let's see what we got to get past..." she grumbled. Miko's eyes traced the rim of the window-frame on the door for a few moments before she spun around and smiled. "Kickass. Looks like this is right near the entrance. Just gotta take a hall down and bam! We're outta here," she announced waving her arms around. Jack flashed her a rare sense of shared happiness. Sure she'd be going right back to jail probably but it would feel like such an accomplishment to finally reach their goal. "But...you gotta promise me something," Miko ordered quietly pressing her face up against his. Jack gulped. "Happy time once we get out."

"Uh..."

"Promise or we're just going to stay right here with the exit staring at us," Miko told him wiggling her eyebrows.

"...fine," Jack sighed. Joyfully Miko danced around allowing Jack himself to make his way to the door. Seeing that no one was in the hall beyond he cracked it open. The instant he did he felt a lump rise in his throat. An alarm was blaring outside.. "...damnit..." he muttered.

"Oh come on, it's not so bad. Just some alarms, maybe a camera or two we have to maneuver past. Piece of cake," Miko laughed walking as carefree as ever into the corridor despite Jack's attempt to grab her. For Miko's sake if nothing else he followed closely after. They hadn't even gotten a few feet beyond the door when a sharp noise sounded causing Miko to stop. A bullet had struck right between her feet. She was completely frozen where she stood as was Jack who was dumbfounded that any cop would dare try shooting anyone in a police station. Poking his head out from behind her however, Jack could see that the man in front of them was certainly not part of the police. No, he looked more like a punk with a rather drastic widows peak and numerous tattoos covering his arms.

"H-hey...Willy..." Miko stuttered as innocently as possible while putting her hands up in front of her, "What be the haps?..." The muscular man grinned as he began to walk towards them.

"The "haps" be that I went back to your cell just like I said but you weren't there. So I was just on my way to get outta this place and what are the odds? I run right into you," he grinned firing off another shot between her legs. Jack could feel her shoulders trembling, "So I figure I'll just give you a little present for lockin' me up here and I'll be on my way." Jack's jaw dropped.

"You weren't lying about the guy that broke out?" he gaped.

"Uh, no," Miko answered with a glare, "I wouldn't lie THAT good just to get out of here." With Jack still going over the revelation in his brain Miko turned back to face the illegal street racer. "How's about a better idea? You don't give me a "present" and just head on your merry way. You go home, I go home, everyone's happy!" Miko laughed nervously. She backed up into Jack more as Willy took another step towards them.

"Or I make sure you never get to slow me down again and I go home happy," he chuckled.

"Miko...I know how you like to show off and everything...but now we NEED to do SOMETHING," Jack hissed into her ear. Hesitantly Miko looked down at herself. Sure she could take the easy way out, but that would risk both Jack and her adversary finding out about her secret! "Like...NOW!" Wincing at the ever-contracting pressure against the gun's trigger, Miko did the only other thing she could think of and tackled Jack into a branching hallway just as the firearm shot. Jack grimaced once he realized what'd happened. Was she seriously going to risk not transforming just because he was around to see?

"Stop movin' kid. Don't have infinite ammo you know," the prisoner growled rounding the corner and taking aim once more. The teenagers desperately looked around for a way to escape, but it was a dead end. "Night night bitch," he smirked. Jack looked down at Miko who curled up against him. His eyes darted between the gun and her a few times before his brows furrowed.

"Miko, cut this crap out! I know your secret, it's fine! Do something!" Miko clenched eyes slid open slightly and then popped wide as dinner plates.

"What do you mean by that!?" she exclaimed.

"You, suit, transforming tech. Now do something!" Jack pleaded. Miko's eye twitched. Emotions of all flavors were filtering through her. Shock. Surprise. Disbelief. So much to take in.

"You know?!" she screeched causing Jack to cover his ears.

"Uh, hey, I sorta have a gun here. So if you could please pay attention to-"

"You be quiet, we'll be with you in a sec," Miko scoffed at the criminal, "Now what is this about you knowing a secret?" Jack didn't remember ever being so unnerved by any look she'd ever given him.

"That day I chased you when you were running across the rooftops...I saw you when you got to the ground," he replied cautiously. Miko squinted at him the next few moments.

"...and you're fine with it?"

"I didn't-"

"HEY! I have a damn gun I'm gonna shoot you with!" Willy yelled thrusting the object at them to get their attention.

"I guess we should be taking that as a confession then," another voice said. Jack and Miko jumped as Fowler stepped out from the corner they'd rounded pointing his own weapon at the street racer's head. "You'll be going back to your cell now Willy," he told him as two cops appeared from around the same corner. His teeth gritting, Fast Willy dropped his gun allowing the officers to cuff him and drag him off. Jack and Miko gave a unanimous sigh of relief.

"Wait a second...we're not going back?" Miko wondered.

"You mean you," Jack corrected. The Asian girl stuck her tongue out at him.

"I just explained that the whole mess was an "accident" in a training mission for two of our junior government agents," Fowler winked, "might wanna get home. I'm sure June's worried."

* * *

Had there been the dripping of normal cave systems' moist atmosphere within it, the halls of the unending corridors would've been echoing with the ambient tunes of nature. But the silence somehow made it even more eerie. Save for the dull pulsing that could be heard and felt by any unholy inhabitant, there was no noise. No life. Just emptiness. Evilness. Enough to drive even the most stern veteran insane. Unless they were already insane that is. That's certainly what one of the only beings there seemed to be. Any tinkering of its multiple limbs along the ceiling were drowned out by the constant flow of evil running through the winding passageways. Once it'd reached its destination the large spider-like figure lowered to the ground via some webbing and morphed into a more humanoid form, its body still slightly scarred from a previous accident.

"Ugh, what the slag is it?..." Tarantulas hissed to himself while his hands rode across the panel that he'd dropped down in front of, "another acid tank acting up or something? Oh well, can't really complain. At least I'm not still working for that arrogant Tyrannosaurus oaf anymore. "But beware the dragon's wrath! Vengeance will be mine!" Slaggin' retarded..." The arachnids mutterings disolved into little more than murmurs the further into his work he got. Despite his personality he really was good at what he did. At heart he was a scientist. Finding out how the universe worked. It fascinated him. Once he understood that then he could take it apart better. "Hello..." he said in surprise as the screen lit up, "What do we have here?...so they're back..."

A dark chuckle rippled past his mandibles as he cracked his knuckles. More rapidly now his fingers clicked and clacked on the control panel. He had not expected to ever see them again after they'd rebelled on their one and only mission, but it'd certainly brightened up his day. And it'd save costs on how to make more of them now that he knew they were back on Earth. This also meant that he could test out his new little toy on them. All it'd take is crossing some frequencies and wireless routers.

"Playtime's coming kiddies," Tarantulas cackled, the screen flashing various different colors with how fast he was operating, "I'll teach you to disobey me..."

The silence of the cavern now held new sounds.

* * *

"So...you're fine with me being Circuit Breaker?" the shorter human questioned finally rid of her previous encagement. The moon was high in the sky and the wind cool, but she'd never been more happy to be given leave from a punishment. A jail cell was not something she wanted to end up in again, and now that Jack knew her secret was probably something she'd never be staying in again no matter what. Compared to that, the freedom of the night world was heaven even if she was wrought with shivers. Noticing the chilled air himself, Jack looked down at his body and then at Miko. Her arms were all she had to really warm herself.

"Never said that...just in that situation I didn't really have much option but to allow it," he replied causing Miko to stop as he started yanking off his upper clothing. Before she could ask what he was doing he handed her his white undershirt and put his gray one back on, "But it's not like I could stop you. Might not like the kind of danger you'll be putting yourself in but it is your choice no matter the problems I might have with it. Don't be surprised if I get annoyed at your or anything with that "superhero" life you're doing." When he finally managed to find the hole that his head went through in his shirt and popped it back out he wasn't all that shocked to see the Asian probably blissfully unaware of whatever he was babbling on about as she snuggled into her newfound clothing.

"Thanks," she told him quietly.

"Don't mention it," he smirked back. Jack jumped slightly as Miko wrapped her arms around his and nuzzled her cheek onto his shoulder, her nose crinkling with each circle her head gave it. A warmness swam across Jack's face.

"And...sorry about the whole getting us locked in prison thing..." he heard her murmur in almost a silent breath. The boy raised his eyebrow.

"What was that?..." he asked with a grin.

"You heard me, I don't repeat apologies," she smiled back, "Got a reputation to maintain." Jack just rolled his eyes. She may have been annoying, but that kind of immaturity of her's had a certain appeal to it. The yin to his yang he might say. The duo continued walking for about half a mile in silence with nothing but the rustling of leaves to provide any sort of conversation. No place in town was too far away to traverse to on foot, but the humans wouldn't be trudging the rest of the way. As they got within site of their school the flickering of some lights caught their eyes. A blue motorcycle was parked and revving in a nearby alley.

"Well let's get you back to your place," Jack sighed with relief. Before he could take another step he felt the girl tug him back. Curiously he shot her a glance.

"Uh uh, you made a promise. We're headed back to your place," she cooed in rememberance. Jack slapped his forehead. "Even if it's just cuddling...besides, for all my host parents know I'm still locked up. They can find out I've been let out in the morning," Miko told him with a wink.

-end of chapter-

Alright, finally I update again. And yes, I apologize for anyone expecting a really long chapter after that absence. Fact is I'm surprised anyone reads this (though I'm always happy to amuse people) and it is just a side project of mine so I don't work on it nearly as much as my other stuff. It's also probably gonna be coming to an end before too long. Sorry.

Ahem, as for the chapter itself, five points to whomever knows about the crappy game that this chapter's title is referencing. And yes, at the end there that is Fast Willy from the episode Speed Metal in Transformers Prime. He's the guy that Knockout runs off the road at the beginning of the episode. Jack's finally told Miko that he knows about Circuit Breaker, and more sexual tension has been felt between them. Will it ever end?...well I just said it was gonna in the previous paragraph, but gotta make this sound neat.

Either way, stay tuned for the next chapter!...assuming the world doesn't end...if it does then hope you've enjoyed checking out this piece. Try to look me up in the afterlife if that's the case!

Now for the art! warahi dev ian tart com(slash)art(slash)We-re-in-the-Jailhouse-Now-343450203

And also some art for if the world happens to end: warahi dev ian tart com(slash)art(slash)Going-Out-With-a-Bang-262920631


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